It is the perfect illustration of a brutal awakening. Early at 6 a.m., the village was declared a red zone. 7 positive Covid cases have been confirmed. Checkpoints surround the village, and this localized lock down could last two weeks.
This follows a screening exercise done on 200 people in Bois Cheri on Tuesday 12th July. Seven inhabitants were found positive, hence this decision to declare the village as a Red Zone. The village had already been targeted following contamination on three other inhabitants earlier.
The inhabitants do not deplore the security measures deployed by the government but the way in which it was done and above all, the time at which the authorities acted. They describe a lack of organization and communication from the Ministry of Health. They were faced to checkpoints on their way to work. However, there have been labourers who went to work around 5 a.m.
On the student’s side, there was no panic as such. They simply did not go to school and were not allowed to leave the village to go to their secondary and tertiary schools.
After this brutally announced decree, the government in collaboration with the most concerned parties will bring facilities to the inhabitants in terms of essential services such as the installation of automated banking machines. During this restrictive period of the red zone, the government will undertake infrastructure works which have already been promised.
