Bukinanyana: at least 117 people affected by Covid-19

The Covid-19 pandemic is making headlines in the commune of Bukinanyana. It is in the province of Cibitoke in the northwest of Burundi. At least 117 cases of Covid-19 have been detected there since early this week. The communal administration and health officials have launched an awareness campaign on all the hills to curb the spread of the deadly virus. INFO SOS Médias Burundi

The number of students affected by Covid-19 continues to increase at Butara high school. They are 36 in number, according to school officials in Bukinanyana commune. The municipal high school has 9 patients.

The surge in Covid-19 cases in schools is worrying parents, especially at Butara High School, a boarding school with a total of 250 learners.

“The patients are all being treated at Ndora hospital and their health is gradually improving,” reassured a doctor.

Other students who remained at the boarding school are worried.

“We fear other cases and nothing reassures us now,” said a student representative.

A human rights defender says that due to promiscuity, the spread of the pandemic is likely to take on an exponential pace.

Same story with a parent whose child tested positive for Covid-19. He pleads for a special authorization to let the children go home for a home follow-up, considering that they do not eat well when they are sick.

The situation is not much better for residents close to the high school where at least 72 of them have tested positive for Covid-19 during this week.

Awareness meetings have been initiated at all levels by health officials and administrative authorities to encourage the population to observe the rules of hygiene and social distancing.

The administrator of Bukinanyana meanwhile speaks of a “situation under control”.

He calls on the local authorities to “multiply the awareness sessions” to prevent the spread of the deadly virus.

According to a count by SOS Medias Burundi, at least 296 people have tested positive for Covid-19 since January 16, 2023 across the country. The commune of Bukinanyana and three high schools in the province of Bururi in the south are recording more cases.

Since the first case emerged in March 2020 in the small East African nation, at least 23,984 people have received the vaccine against the deadly virus, out of a total of 50,470 positive cases detected and 1,866,744 who have been tested.

At least 38 patients have died as a result of the pandemic, according to a report from the national committee in charge of the fight against the coronavirus. On January 5, the tiny East African nation scrapped Covid-19 testing for all travellers, making Burundi the latest East African Community country to suspend them.