Prime Minister Joseph Jouthe told Le Nouvelliste on Monday that the government will renew the state of health emergency for the third consecutive time this Wednesday, May 20. “We have met with the scientific committee several times, but already we have noticed that the situation is deteriorating,” the head of government said in an interview with the newspaper.
The Prime Minister said that there would not be too great a change in the arrangements already made in the state of health emergency. Meetings with the scientific committee and the multisectoral commission will allow the government to take further steps in renewing the state of health emergency, he said.
However, Jouthe complained about the lack of a legal framework to enforce certain decisions taken by the government to limit the spread of the coronavirus such as wearing a mask, measures against people who are noticed on the beaches, among others.
“Unfortunately for the moment, we cannot force people to wear the mask, if not sensitize them …”, said the head of the Prime Minister’s office.
Jouthe revealed to Le Nouvelliste that the scientific committee recommended that the government adoptedtwo to three weeks of containment to limit the damage. The Prime Minister also acknowledged that the socio-economic situation of the country makes this decision difficult.
Faced with the bad behavior of the population, the government is much more worried in recent days. “It is a really worrying situation. The hospitals are starting to be saturated, ” the Prime Minister said. Continue reading.