Senegal president threatens to close borders as COVID-19 cases soar

Senegal’s President Macky Sall threatened on Friday to close the borders and re-impose a state of emergency after the country registered a new record number of daily COVID-19 cases for the third time in a week.

While Senegal has seen relatively few coronavirus cases and deaths so far, it does not have enough doses to vaccinate widely as it experiences a third wave of the virus.

The health ministry reported 738 new cases on Friday, more than the previous records of 733 on Wednesday and 529 on Sunday.

“I would like to say very clearly that if the numbers continue to rise, I will take all necessary measures including if it means returning to a state of emergency or closing the borders or banning movements,” Sall said in a televised address.

There have been 49,008 infections and 1,209 coronavirus-related deaths reported in Senegal since the pandemic began.