Gambians express fear over coronavirus as Senegal confirms first case
Banjul, Gambia (PANA) - Gambians have been gripped with fear over the confirmation in Senegal of the coronavirus first case on Monday, with many receiving the news with shock and fear and called on the government to strengthen its control on the border entry points by testing anyone who is coming and going out of the country.
The tiny West African nation is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean and Senegal to the north, east, and south.
Binta Gassama, a local vendor at the country commercial city, Serrekunad market, said the first reported case of the coronavirus infection in Senegal has caused fear while citing that the current state of the country’s health care system has to be ready in order to meet all required facilities needed to protect the country from the possible infection of the virus.
“It is high time our government, especially the ministry of health, should take a proactive effort in making sure the Gambia is well protected from the virus this by putting more protective efforts in the border entries of the country.
"So, Senegal being our neighbors and now confirmed with the first case of coronavirus should put an alarm to the government concerning our health as a country,” she said.
Ismaila Jallow, a school teacher stated that it is high time government start to cancelling flights to countries reported with corona virus epidemic, adding that this will first serve as a protective measure against the virus.
“The question is has the government starts to cancel all flights to countries confirmed with the novel corona virus infection? This is because the first case of our neighboring country Senegal was a result of a man who traveled from France as tested positive with the virus. Do we have health facilities to even protect ourselves from the virus as a nation? This is the question we should all ask as a nation,” he said.
Former minister of health Omar Sey on Monday wrote in his Facebook page about the current wide spread of the virus expressing his concern on the news reported that coronavirus case is in neighboring Senegal.
“I was very worried upon hearing the first case of the corona virus infection in our neighboring country of Senegal. Gambia is a close door to Senegal so all efforts has to be in place in order to protect our people from the new killer disease,” he said.
Senegal is right now believed to be a fourth African country with the reported case of coronavirus epidemic after Algeria, Egypt and Nigeria were announced to have also confirmed with the virus in their countries.
In the same development, opposition Gambia Democratic Congress leader, Mamma Kandeh, on Monday asked President Adama Barrow to return to Banjul and convene an emergency cabinet meeting and look for measures of preventing the country from the deadly coronavirus amid nation fear over the virus.
President Barrow is in the upper River Region where he has inaugurates road, school and laid block of Gambia college annex.
“The government must take a giant step towards securing all entry points to the Gambia and monitor the movement of people in and outside the country. The COVID 19 corona virus is deadly and an enemy to all countries, it is spreading so fast around the world and without any cure as at now” Kandeh said.
“So, it is important for the government to cut short of their trip in the provincial Gambia to immediately organize an emergency cabinet concerning the alarming fears of the virus,” his statement added.
The party called for vigilance “in our work as a nation to assist authorities in their course to protect our country from the corona virus infection. Everyone has to work together including the government to make sure the Gambia and her borders are safe from the deadly virus.”
PANA further reports that at a news conference here Monday, the ministry of health disclosed that it has deployed 11 health officials at Banjul International Airport as fear grows over the deadly Coronavirus.
Sanna Sambou, coordinator of epidemiology and disease control at the health ministry, said that his office has assigned eleven people at airport and the borders have been also supplied with minimum stock of materials and the IPC equipment to be able continues what they are doing.”
“At our points of entries, the borders; the airport and seaport are keys here because we expected corona to be imported via the airport. So this is why we are doing possible effort to make sure we strengthen the airport as possible,” he said.
According to him, the virus is widely expected to spread easily through the airport as a ban on international travel has not yet been announced by the country.
-0- PANA MSS/VAO 2March2020
