Liberia reintroduces restrictions as Covid-19 cases spike

Covid-10 test Nairobi

A health worker collects a sample for a Covid-19 test from a resident of Kibera in Nairobi on October 18, 2020. Liberia has reintroduced measures against Covid-19 after recording more cases.

Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group

What you need to know:

  • All travellers who have been to India, Pakistan and Bangladesh in the last 14 days will be denied entry into the country, the Ministry of Health said in a statement, which reintroduced restrictive measures aimed at containing the spread of the virus.

Liberia has imposed travel restrictions on passengers from three countries hard-hit by Covid-19 as part of new measures aimed at curbing a spike in infections.

All travellers who have been to India, Pakistan and Bangladesh in the last 14 days will be denied entry into the country, the Ministry of Health said in a statement, which reintroduced restrictive measures aimed at containing the spread of the virus.

All public institutions were asked to lower staff numbers by 50 percent, with the rest working from home.

The ministry also banned large gatherings, limiting attendance to 20 persons. All sporting events will be held behind closed doors, it said, adding that night clubs and bars are to close at 9pm daily.

The measures also include compulsory wearing of facemasks in public places and social distancing, including in public transport vehicles and places of worship.

Health minister Wilhemina Jallah warned that failure to comply might result in a lockdown or a curfew.

Liberian authorities said the decision to reimpose restrictions was informed by increasing cases and statistics on the spread of the virus in communities.

Delta variant

Liberia follows a trend in the region, which has seen a spike in cases of Covid-19 amid fears of the existence of the new and deadly Delta strain which is said to be behind India’s crisis.

On Friday, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned that the Delta variant is becoming the globally dominant strain due to its “significantly increased transmissibility”.

According to its weekly epidemiological report as at June 14, at least 80 countries had reported cases of the strain.

Studies show the Delta strain is around 60 percent more transmissible than Alpha, the variant first identified in Britain, which was found to be more contagious than the strain that began the pandemic in the Chinese city of Wuhan in 2019.

The global health body said that in the face of the new reality, it is particularly concerned about Africa, where despite accounting for only five percent of new infections and two percent of deaths, new cases continue to rise.

Cases soaring

The WHO singled out Namibia, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Rwanda as some of the nations where cases doubled in the past week.

As of Friday, Liberia had 2,484 confirmed cases. It recorded 233 new cases and seven deaths in the past seven days and registered a death toll of 93.

In Sierra Leone, the cumulative cases stood at 4 312, including 82 deaths. New cases recorded in the last seven days numbered 144.

None of the two neighbouring countries have so far recorded cases of the Delta variant, although reports last week indicated that Liberia was investigating a possible one.

“The Delta variant is well on its way to becoming the dominant variant globally because of its significantly increased transmissibility,” said Dr Soumya Swaminathan, WHO’s chief scientist.

The WHO’s concern about Africa is also fueled by low vaccine coverage.