ZCZC
BFF-37
HEALTH-VIRUS-EGUINEA
EGuinea suspends transport links due to lack of virus kits
MALABO, Equatorial Guinea, Feb 13, 2021 (BSS/AFP) – Equatorial Guinea on
Saturday said it was suspending air and boat links between its capital
Malabo, located on an island, and its mainland due to a lack of Covid testing
kits.
Equatorial Guinea, a country with 1.3 million people, has officially
recorded 5,663 cases of coronavirus, of which 87 have been fatal.
The economic capital Bata is located on the mainland and the suspended
travel links will be a severe blow to the people of the oil-rich country,
where the vast majority lives in grinding poverty.
The tiny state, ruled by 78-year-old President Teodoro Obiang Nguema for
the past 41 years, scaled back a rigorously enforced range of restrictions in
August.
“From Sunday February 14 until a date that will be decided later, all
flights and boat crossings are suspended between Malabo and Bata and vice-
versa because the Covid-19 testing kits have been depleted,” the state
television said late Friday.
On Tuesday, the country imposed a curfew and made coronavirus negative
tests obligatory for people wishing to travel between the mainland and the
island where Malabo is located.
According to official statistics, there are about 50 new coronavirus cases
per week on average.
On Friday, the country began administering vaccinations after receiving a
donation of 100,000 Chinese-made vaccines from Beijing.
The first to be inoculated were Vice President Teodorin Nguema Obiang, the
president’s son, and his mother.
BSS/AFP/IJ/2030 hrs