Congo mining provinces impose new covid-19 lockdowns
Authorities in south eastern mining heartland of the Democratic Republic of the Congo had announced temporary closures on Tuesday to extend coronavirus testing and prevent worsening of a worrying situation, the governors said.
In the Central African nation, cases have multiplied despite short-term closures in some urban centres and restrictions on movements. A lack of local testing has fueled concerns that the virus will go undetected.
Jacques Kyabula Katwe, governor of the mineral-rich Haut-Katanga province, said a new 48-hour ban will take effect this weekend at the Lubumbashi mining centre and in the border towns of Kasumbalesa and Kipushi.
“The problem: testing the contacts of (covid-19) contacts … The situation has continued to be worrying,” Katwe tweeted.
Regardless, the governor of the neighbouring province of Lualaba announced that passenger traffic to Haut-Katanga would cease between June 18 and 22. The transport of food, medicine and minerals is not affected, according to a statement that was given.
Health workers will be able to analyse Covid 19 tests faster after opening a testing facility in Lubumbashi, the governor’s office said.
On Monday, medical expert charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) warned that many Congolese were waiting days and sometimes weeks to receive test results as the country only had one laboratory running tests.
Any coronavirus-related industrial shutdown could also be catastrophic for Congo, where mining contributed 32% of its GDP and 95% of export revenue in 2018, according to the central bank.
Congo has so far confirmed nearly 5,000 cases of covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, and 112 deaths. Its figures are “a likely underestimate given the limited covid-19 testing capabilities within the country,” MSF said.
Since the start of the epidemic, Congo, like many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, has faced the dilemma of needing to impose restrictions to curb the spread of the virus that risk damaging the livelihoods of millions who work in the informal sector.
