According to Public Health Minister Manaouda Malachie, the Special National Solidarity Fund for the fight against the novel Coronavirus has received from corporate bodies and people of good will, the cumulative sum of seven hundred and seventy million one hundred and fifty thousand francs, FCFA770.150.000.

He says five hundred million francs of the said contributions are awaiting transfer to the dedicated account.

“These resources, as well as those contributed by the State have enabled us to take charge of the hotels in which passengers arriving in Cameroon were confined, the management of field teams in the context of the management of this outbreak, the acquisition of personal protection and sanitation equipment, the development of management centres in health facilities, the development of special high-capacity management centres, including the Olembe site with comforts such as refrigerators, televisions, cutlery and kitchen utensils, subscription televisions, and an on-site laundry cleaning service,” said Minister Malachie in a press briefing Friday evening.

Shortly after creating the Special National Solidarity Fund for the fight against the novel Coronavirus, Cameroon’s Head of State, President Paul Biya ordered that it be urgently credited with the sum of FCFA 1 billion.

A statement from the office of the Prime Minister, Head of Government Chief Dr. Dion Ngute Joseph said the money will be set aside to finance response strategy operations to curtail the rapid spread of the Coronavirus pandemic in Cameroon.

After El-Hadj Baba Danpullo, Cameroonian-born business tycoon donated FCFa 100 million to the fund, Senator Sylvestre Ngouchinghe, CEO of Congelcam donated the sum of FCFA 250 million Friday.

In less than a month, Cameroon has seen its COVID-19 cases climb up from one on March 6, 2020 to 509 as at April 3, 2020 with new cases now confirmed every day. According to the Minister of Public Health, most of those testing positive for the virus are travellers who recently returned from abroad.

After closing its borders, shutting down schools and prohibiting gatherings of more than 50 persons, Cameroon has now launched an active search for cases, in particular through massive testing of the population.

“The second line of action is the optimal management of confirmed positive cases, from the point of view of protocols, hospital care and equipment supply. The third is social regulation, the objective of which is to limit community contamination, notably through awareness raising and regulation of the flow of people in crowded areas. Finally, the fourth line of action focuses on governance and accountability, in order to better coordinate actions between sectors, ensure efficient management of human resources and guarantee transparency in the management of resources made available.”

Public Health Minister said Friday that two other large-capacity care centres are being set up at the Yaoundé military stadium and at Carrefour Zoé in a bid to increase the management capacity to more than 1,000 beds.

“At the same time, the specialised management centres in charge of severe cases, continue to increase their reception capacity and quality health care. A massive acquisition and redistribution operation in all regions is under way. The first contingents are expected to arrive in the regions in the coming days.

“Similarly, there is a large order for respiratory assistance equipment through the central procurement office of the United Nations Development Programme. With regard to social regulation, there is no need for me to recall the extension of the measures enacted by the Government, on the very high instructions of the President of the Republic, with an emphasis on their implementation, as instructed by the Prime Minister, Head of Government following the evaluation meeting he chaired on Thursday, 02 April 2020.

“With regard to governance, we have taken the option of devolving COVID19 event management system and placing it under the responsibility of the Governors of the Regions. Moreover, I have also ordered the provision of financial means to act, within the limits of available resources. As regards resources, while thanking the President of the Republic for the resources that he was kind enough to make available to the Special National Solidarity Fund for the fight against the Coronavirus, I would like to let you know that a delegated authorising officer and an administrator of the said account have been formally appointed.”