Cameroon is facing a "resurgence" of Covid-19 cases, with an increase in the number of infected people in the communities. More than 2,000 new cases have been registered within a month.

From 24,189 confirmed positive cases on December 1, the country had 24,560 cases as of December 4, according to figures released by the Minister of Public Health (Minsanté) Manaouda Malachie.

This represents 371 new cases within 72 hours. This increase in cases coincides with the resumption of activities in various sectors (return to school, resumption of sports competitions, etc.).

 "The fact that people are allowed to resume their normal daily routine does not mean that the fight against the coronavirus has been won. Far from that, these activities resumption raise contact between people and favor the spread of the virus in communities if preventive measures are not effective,” explains Dr. Linda Esso, Deputy Director of Disease Control, Epidemics and Pandemics at the Ministry of Public Health (Minsanté).

Health authorities deem the situation worrisome since the holiday season, which is conducive for family meetings and mass gatherings, is near. Therefore, they fear a new wave of the pandemic after Christmas or early 2021.

"As the end of year period is getting closer, we must stay alert and be supportive to avoid the resurgence of covid-19 cases in our country. We must continue to protect the vulnerable in our country, including the elderly, people with disabilities, [and] people with chronic diseases by adopting good practices," said Dr. Esso at the daily briefing on the covid-19 cases on December 8, 2020.  

This requires strict compliance with the safety measures enacted by the government and the World Health Organization (WHO).  This compliance is "a sine qua non condition for resuming normal life and activities without running the risk of having to face an uncontrollable increase in Covid-19 cases,” she said asking residents to be responsible and not to let their guard down.

Patricia Ngo Ngouem