Djibouti backs down on decision to ease coronavirus blocking measures

Issued on: 05/10/2020 – 14:46Modified: 05/10/2020 – 14:46

“The government, through the prime minister, has decided to extend the blockade for another week, until May 17,” Foreign Minister Mahmoud Ali Youssouf said in a Twitter post on Sunday. “The preconditions for the lift lock are not in place.”

In an earlier series of posts, the foreign minister announced that the shutdown would begin Monday, largely for economic reasons. Recognizing that “the stakes are high,” he insisted, “people need to earn a living and go to work.”

People in Djibouti had been waiting to use public transport and go to places of worship once again, albeit following strict protection measures, such as wearing masks and respecting physical distance.

However, the borders were not opened “except for humanitarian personnel who will follow an agreed prevention protocol to prevent the reintroduction of a new form of the virus,” the chancellor said.

Youssouf had recognized that even with these measures in place, new epicenters of contamination could emerge in the capital city. He said that a national working group would continue to follow the spread of the virus.

Those fears now appear to have led the government to deviate from the precautionary side.

East Africa most affected country in relation to its population

Djibouti is a small but strategically important country that is home to major American and French military bases.

It has registered 1,189 positive cases of Covid-19. While this is small on a global scale (over four million people have tested positive worldwide), it is the highest in East Africa.

Three people have died from Covid-19 in Djibouti.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Africa, Djibouti has the highest number of cases in Africa relative to its population of around one million people, although its tests have also surpassed many of its neighbors.

Strict blocking

On March 7, the capital, the city of Djibouti, where 80 percent of the population lives, was closed and its airport was closed.

On March 23, the government announced a lockout across the country. It closed borders and places of worship, banned public transportation, and allowed only workers from essential industries to go outdoors.

However, the measures were not fully respected and large crowds continued to gather in the capital city.

President Ismail Omar Guelleh, in power since 1999, warned on March 22 of even stricter measures if the population did not respect the rules of confinement.

The strict imposition of the blockade has drawn criticism from Guelleh, who could run for president again next year after the term limits were abolished after a change in the constitution.

A sensitive geographic location

Djibouti’s geographical location, sandwiched between Ethiopia and Somalia, poses an additional challenge.

Ethiopia has direct flights from China, where the virus is believed to have originated, and Somalia has significant security problems and weak health care provision.

The International Crisis Group recently warned of the social economic impact Covid-19 was having in Somalia due to its “very fragile” public health system.

He was referring to a “public health emergency in an electoral minefield” in reference to the legislative elections scheduled for November 2020.

Opponents fear the government may exploit concerns about the virus to postpone elections.

As of May 9, there were 58,918 coronavirus cases on the African continent and 2,172 people had died.

South Africa and Chad have been the most affected with 9,420 and 8,407 cases respectively, followed by Morocco, Algeria, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon and Guinea.