On 12 January 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that a novel coronavirus was the cause of a respiratory illness in a cluster of people in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China, which was reported to the WHO on 31 December 2019.[4][5]
On 15 March, the following measure were announced by the President of the Republic: It is prohibited to leave the house except for essential journeys which includes: shopping for food, travelling to work, accessing healthcare, and exercising within 1 km of the household. [57]Marc Del Grande, the Prefect of French Guiana, announced closing of borders with Suriname and Brazil, mandatory 14 day quarantine for people coming from abroad, and a curfew between 21:00 and 05:00. [58]
On 22 March, all air travel for passengers will be halted from midnight onwards. [59]
On 24 March, Marie-Laure Phinera-Horth, the Mayor of Cayenne had instituted a curfew from 20:00 to 05:00 unlike the rest of the region. [60]
On 30 March, a member of the nursing staff at the Cayenne nursing home tested positive. [58]
April
On 4 April, a laboratory assistant from Andrée-Rosemon Hospital Center tested positive. [61]
On 7 April, there were 77 cases and 34 recoveries. The districts affected are Saint-Laurent, Kourou, Cayenne and Maripasoula[31] Groupe Bernard Hayot has donated 1,300,000 masks for free to health works in Martinique, Gaudeloupe, Guiana, and Réunion[62]
On 9 April, the European Union announced a grant of €8M (US$8.6M), which will be implemented by the Caribbean Public Health Agency, for the fight against the Corona virus. French Guiana is one of the 24 members of the CARPHA. [63] The Agence régionale de santé Guyane released a special report on the situation: 780 tests had been performed, 985 contacts had been traced, 42 cases were imported and 41 cases resulted from community spread. [64] A cluster of 13 cases has been located at the indigenous village Cécilia in Matoury. 13 out of 16 suspected cases have tested positive. The Prefect has ordered a confinement of the village. [65] On 14 April, six more children from Cécilia tested positive; they are getting better. [66] The confinement of Cécilia has been liften on 2 May, and the 300 inhabitants can resume their normal life.[67]
Marc Del Grande, Prefect of French-Guinea
On 10 April, the report of the Scientific Council on the Evolution of the Coronavirus in the Overseas Territories has been released which calls for strict confinement, doubling of hospital capacity. [68] ARS Guyane replied on 13 April that they will apply certain recommendations, but also stated that the number of ICU beds had been increased to 38 and is sufficient at moment given that there are currently no people on ICU. [69]
On 11 April, France and Suriname announced joint efforts to prevent illegal crossings of the Maroni river separating Suriname and French Guiana, [70] and established a contact point in Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni and Albina. [71] On 13 April, the Prefect mobilised the army to guard the river for its entire length. [72]
On 12 April, Dr. Hatem Kallel announced that the patient who had been in ICU since 2 April has been discharged. There are currently no patients in intensive care. [73]
On 13 April, there are concerns about price gouging, however Gilles Klaus, Director of Carrefour Matoury, denies the allegations. [74] On 15 April, a commitment charter for price moderation between the State and 21 essential companies was signed. [75]
On 15 April, it was reported that following the outbreak in Cécilia, several indigenous villages mainly located in Matoury and Macouria have voluntarily locked down. [76] Officials from French Guiana's local authorities voted to set up an emergency fund of € 8.7 million in the form of 0-rate loans to help businesses. The opposition and tourism authority fear that it is not enough. [77]
On 16 April, it was announced that 330 healthcare workers at Andrée Rosemon Hospital Center in Cayenne will be tested, because up to now five staff members have tested positive. [78] According to the situation report of ARS, there are 42 imported cases and 54 cases of community spread. Only 6% of the cases are over 65. 20 people are in hospital and 3 are in ICU. [79]
On 17 April, the Red Cross started a food parcel distribution operation in Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni. [80]
On 20 April, the first death was announced. A 70-year old man died last night in the Cayenne hospital. He died between 23:00 and 1:00.[3]
On 21 April, Antoine Joly, the French ambassador to Suriname, revealed in an interview that the town of Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni has been shielded off from the rest of the region, and that most of the cases have been imported.[81] Hôtel Du Fleuve near the village of Sinnamary was requisitioned to be used for quarantine or Covid-19 patients. The hotel had become deserted after the Russian technicians from the Guianan Soyuz launch site returned home.[82]
Maroni river near Grand-Santi
On 22 April, there were 107 cases and 84 recoveries. The virus has spread to Grand-Santi, a man who worked at the Medical Center of West Guiana, came into contact with residents of the kampong Tonka. An investigation resulted in nine positive cases. The kampong has been put in confinement. [83]. Other districts affected are Saint-Laurent, Kourou, Cayenne, and Maripasoula.[46] They have been quarantined in the above mentioned Hôtel Du Fleuve.[84] On 24 April, the confinement was extended to villages Mafoutou and Monfina located about 10 km south of Grand-Santi Airport.[85] Of the 66 people tested on Friday and Saturday, 12 tested positive.[86]
On 25 April, the announcement of a new cluster at St-Georges de l'Oyapock near the border with Brazil has resulted in a reinforcement of controls on the border. The Brazilian border town of Oiapoque has 7 confirmed cases.[87] As of 29 April, Oiapoque has 23 infected people and one death.[88]
On 28 April, Georges Patient raised the alarm in the Senate of France that the local communities in the overseas territorities will suffer an enormous fall in revenue as a result of the coronavirus, and that the current provisions in the 2020 finance bill are severely inadequate.[89] The poorest households will receive two government bonuses. €9.8 million has been allocated and will aid 35,000 households and 68,000 children.[90]
On 29 April, the local government of French Guiana voted unanimously against the reopening of schools as announced by Macron. School will recommence in September.[91] The confinement is still causing long queues at service stations to get gas cylinders. Even though there is no shortage, there is a limited amount of places were they can be obtained.[92] Arianespace will gradually resume its operations from 11 May onwards. Flight VV16/SSMS will launch mid July. The Soyuz missions will resume this summer.[93]
On 30 April, French Guiana is now listed green meaning that the virus is under control. There are currently two patients in hospital and no patients in intensive care.[94] Families can once again visits their elders in nursing homes (Ehpad). The visits are only Thursday morning, by appointment and under strict measures.[95]
May
On 2 May, the indigenous village of Organabo in Iracoubo voluntarily confined itself. Chief Ernest Grand Emile is concerned because the 200 people of the village are mainly elderly, and village is self sufficient.[96]
Preventive measures
All borders, airports, ports and space ports [56] are closed for passengers.[59]Guiana Space Center will reopen on 11 May.[93]
On 23 March 2020, the Pasteur Institute of French Guiana has initiated EPI-COVID-19, a study into the transmission of the coronavirus within the household. 300 contacts which are part of a family which has a diagnosed patient are monitored clinically, virologically and serologically. The study is funded by the Agence Nationale de la Recherche, Pasteur Institute, and ARS Guyane.[99][100]
Crisis Management
French Guiana is an overseas department and region of the French Republic and the State is represented by a Prefect. One of the tasks of the Prefect is to manage major crises. Marc Del Grande is the current Prefect and therefore in charge of the management of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Situation report
Situation report of 29 April 2020
Tests
Samples analysed
2,025
Origin
Imported
43 (34%)
Community transmission
82 (66%)
Age
<15
19
15-44
67
45-64
28
65-74
4
≥75
2
Clusters
Number of clusters
17
Average size
5.7
Average days between symptoms first and second case
Air Guyane SP is a French airline with its head office on the grounds of Cayenne-Rochambeau Airport in Matoury, French Guiana, France. It operates regional scheduled flights. Its main base is Cayenne-Rochambeau Airport.
The Guianese Socialist Party is a political party in the French overseas région of French Guiana, in South America.
The 2 arrondissements of the Guyane department are:
Arrondissement of Cayenne, with 14 communes. The population of the arrondissement was 176,357 in 2016.
Arrondissement of Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni, with 8 communes. The population of the arrondissement was 92,995 in 2016.
The arrondissement of Cayenne is an arrondissement of France in French Guiana department in French Guiana region. It has 14 communes. Its population is 176,357 (2016), and its area is 42,589 km2 (16,444 sq mi). It is the larger of the two arrondissements in French Guiana.
Cayenne – Félix Eboué Airport is French Guiana's main international airport. It is located near the commune of Matoury, 13 km (8 mi) southwest of French Guiana's capital city of Cayenne. It is managed by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of French Guyana.
Articles related to the French overseas department of Guiana(Région Guyane) include:
French Guiana is an overseas department and region of France on the northern Atlantic coast of South America in the Guianas. It borders Brazil to the east and south and Suriname to the west. French Guiana is the only territory of the mainland Americas to have full integration in a European country.
Gabriel Serville is a French politician of the Guianese Socialist Party who was elected to the French National Assembly on 16 June 2012 representing French Guiana's 1st constituency.
The 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic reached France on 24 January 2020, when the first COVID-19 case in both Europe and France was confirmed in Bordeaux. The first five confirmed cases were all individuals who had recently arrived or returned from China. A Chinese tourist who was admitted to hospital in Paris on 28 January died on 14 February, making it the first Covid-19 death in France. A key event in the spread of the disease across Metropolitan France as well as its overseas territories was the annual assembly of the Christian Open Door Church between 17 and 24 February in Mulhouse which was attended by about 2,500 people, at least half of whom are believed to have contracted the virus.
The 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic was confirmed to have spread to Morocco on 2 March 2020, when the first case COVID-19 case was confirmed in Casablanca. It involved a Moroccan expatriate residing in Italy who arrived from Italy on 27 February 2020. A second case was confirmed by the end of that same day involving an 89-year-old woman Moroccan residing in Italy who had returned to Morocco on 25 February 2020 from the Italian city of Bologna.
The 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic was confirmed to have reached Tunisia on 2 March 2020.
The 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic was confirmed to have reached Ivory Coast in March 2020.
The 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic was confirmed to have reached Mauritius in March 2020. Since the first three cases of Covid-19 were confirmed, the Mauritian authorities have been conducting 'Contact tracing': people who have been in contact with infected patients have been placed under quarantine, including doctors, nurses and police officers. No cases have been reported in Rodrigues, Agaléga and St. Brandon.
The 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic was confirmed to have reached the French overseas collectivity of French Polynesia in March 2020. As of 17 April, cases are confined to Tahiti and Moorea.
The 2020 coronavirus pandemic in French Saint Martin is part of the ongoing global viral pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which was confirmed to have reached the French overseas collectivity of Saint Martin on 1 March 2020. The island is split in a Dutch and French part, with the main airport on the Dutch side and the major harbour on the French side. The first positive test was a French couple from Saint Martin who returned from France via Saint Barthélemy on 1 March 2020. They were screened and tested positive on the airport, but are counted on the French count. The island had a population of 35,334 in 2017.
The 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic was confirmed to have reached the French overseas department and region of Réunion on 11 March 2020.
The ongoing global viral pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was confirmed to have reached the French overseas department and region of Mayotte on 10 March 2020. On 31 March the first person died of Covid-19.
The 2020 coronavirus pandemic in Comoros is part of the ongoing global viral pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which was confirmed to have reached Comoros on 30 April 2020.
Marc Del Grande is a French senior civil servant and current Prefect of French Guiana.
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