Coronavirus: Guinea's compulsory mask wearing order takes effect

A compulsory face mask order kicked into effect in Guinea over the weekend (April 18) as part of government’s efforts to stem the spread of the new coronavirus.

In the capital, Conakry, police officers conducted checks at major intersections and imposed a fine of 30,000 Guinean francs equivalent to 3 euros on offenders. In the inner suburbs, the majority of inhabitants respected this new measure which they considered useful.

Taxi driver, Alhassane Camara, said: “If you protect yourself you’re not going to get (the virus), if you don’t protect yourself, you’re going to get it too.”

But more than anything, the order has turned out to be a boost for many seamstresses and tailors, as the demand for masks have spiked since President Conde issued the order last week.

Fatoumata Mbo, a seamstress confirms the boom: “I get a lot of calls for orders. Businesses, people of good will who call us and say “I want 50 or 150” masks.”

Guinea as of April 20, had registered 579 COVID-19 cases with five deaths. Amongst the dead are the head of the elections body, Amadou Salif Kebe and Secretary-General of the government Sekou Kourouma.

Over the weekend, the death toll from the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic in Africa surpassed 1,000 as the number of confirmed cases hit 20,000 as of Saturday, according to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.