Every evening, public television CRTV starts evening news sessions with an excerpt in which the President of the Republic, Paul Biya, recalls that wearing facemasks in public places is still mandatory until further notice because of the Covid-19 pandemic.  

Despite this, a rising number of Cameroonians still go around markets, pubs, worship places, etc., without wearing facemasks although the pandemic is still raging, causing more than 400 deaths in the country.

To put an end to this carelessness, the Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute (photo), prescribed some measures to the Minister of Territorial Administration (Minat) and the Minister of Decentralization and Local Development (Minddevel) during the August 13, 2020, weekly meeting of the Inter-Ministerial Committee in charge of the fight against the coronavirus.  

The Prime Minister "instructed the Minister of Decentralization and Local Development to ask municipal authorities to ensure that protective masks are worn in public spaces under their jurisdictions,” the release published after the meeting informs.

The Minat was ordered to, in conjunction with the General Delegate for National Security and the Secretary of State for Defence in charge of the Gendarmerie, strengthen the actions of administrative police when it comes to the mandatory wearing of face masks in public places.

The Minddevel explains that the public places referred to here include all the places to be used by all the citizens, markets for instance.

This is the umpteenth time the Prime Minister has made such prescriptions with impacts on citizens’ behavior.  

D.M.