In a message to the nation on Thursday May 7, 2020, the President of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, Alassane Ouattara, decided to lift the curfew, starting on Friday May 8, 2020 in the interior cities. This, in light of the observation that no positive case has been detected since April 21, 2020. But, warns the President, it will be immediately restored in the localities which could experience positive cases of Covid-19. At the level of Abidjan, the curfew, maintained until May 15, is now from 11 p.m. to 4 a.m. instead of 9 p.m. to 5 a.m.
This long-awaited decision by populations already asphyxiated economically due to the situation of confinement will allow them to regain a little bit their mark in this difficult economic context.
Also, the Head of State authorized the reopening of pre-school, primary, secondary and higher education establishments from Friday 08 May. And that of restaurants, scrub, bars, night clubs, cinemas and places of entertainment. Restriction measures for population gatherings, initially capped at 50 people, now increase to 200 people. Physical distancing and protective measures are, however, maintained.
Faced with the recurring discontent of people working in the liberal professions regarding their life portfolios, Alassane Ouattara reassured that to date, the government has disbursed, on behalf of the various support mechanisms, a cumulative amount of 190 billion FCFA, Distributed as a follow-up: 50 billion FCFA for the solidarity fund; 40 billion FCFA for the support fund for SMEs; 30 billion FCFA for the support fund for large companies; 20 billion Fcfa for the support fund for the informal sector and 50 billion Fcfa in support for the agricultural sector including 10 billion Fcfa for food.
In his message, the Ivorian president insisted on transparency: “I gave firm instructions so that the governance of the funds should be under the seal of transparency and respect for international standards in the matter. In this context, private firms of international renown have been recruited to support the management bodies of the various funds, ”maintained the President of the Republic. Who also invited the populations to scrupulously respect the barrier gestures, in particular the regular washing of hands with water and soap or with a hydro-alcoholic solution, physical distancing and the effective wearing of the mask.
