James Tasamba
22 March 2020•Update: 22 March 2020
KIGALI, Rwanda
Equatorial Guinea Saturday declared a National State of Alarm to facilitate the mobilization of economic and material resources needed to stem the spread of coronavirus.
Under the declaration, a special emergency fund was created to curb coronavirus, said a government decree issued by President Obiang Nguema Mbasogo.
The government sees it as urgent to mobilize sufficient economic and material resources to prevent and eliminate the virus in a relatively short time and space, in order to save the lives of all families in the country, it said.
The government committed to contribute 5 billion CFA francs (about $8 million) to the fund.
The decree urged the public to also contribute to the fund, along with other governments, friendly economic institutions, and humanitarian groups.
The central African country has reported six confirmed cases of COVID-19 since March 14, all of them imported, according to the Health and Social Welfare Ministry.
Equatorial Guinea has adopted several measures to contain the spread of the virus, including closing its borders as well as applying social distancing.
The virus officially known as COVID-19 emerged in Wuhan, China last December, and has spread to over 170 countries and territories.
