Guinea-Bissau President, Umaro Sissoco Embalo has extended the country’s state of emergency until May 26 after analyzing the spread of COVID-19. He also recommended strongly that people should wear a mask in public spaces and while on transit.
Guinea-Bissau currently has 761 confirmed coronavirus cases, including 26 recoveries and 3 deaths in the West African nation.
“We have seen that the number of coronavirus infections is increasing every day in the country,” he said, adding that “the current number of contamination is very high and the authorities are worried about this rapid spread of the virus”, President Embalo said on Monday in an announcement.
Embalo urged health authorities to put in place an effective plan to limit the spread of the virus in various communities. In addition, he asked government officials to reinforce the measures in place if necessary.
The state of emergency will be extended from zero o’clock on Tuesday, while the curfew between 5 p.m. and 6 a.m. will be maintained, and people are only allowed to leave their homes between 7 a.m. and 2 p.m. to go shopping, a report on the presidential decree by Xinxua news agency said.
Guinea-Bissau decided to maintain the restrictive measures after fresh infections. Restrictions had been on for weeks including the closure of borders, restaurants, bars, places of worships and schools with a ban public gathering.
