COVID-19 pandemic in Senegal

The COVID-19 pandemic in Senegal is part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The virus was confirmed to have reached Senegal on March 2, 2020.

COVID-19 pandemic in Senegal
Disease	COVID-19
Virus strain	SARS-CoV-2
Location	Senegal
First outbreak	France
Index case	Dakar
Arrival date	2 March 2020 (5 months, 2 weeks and 1 day)
Confirmed cases	12,162 (as of 15 August) [1]
Active cases	4,232 (as of 15 August)
Recovered	7,677 (as of 15 August)
Deaths	253 (as of 15 August)

Background

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.[2][3]

The case fatality ratio for COVID-19 has been much lower than SARS of 2003,[4][5] but the transmission has been significantly greater, with a significant total death toll.[6][4] Model-based simulations for Senegal suggest that the 95% confidence interval for the time-varying reproduction number R _t has been stable above 1.0 since May 2020.[7]

Timeline

COVID-19 cases in Senegal  ()      Deaths        Recoveries        Active cases Mar Mar Apr Apr May May Jun Jun Jul Jul Aug Aug Last 15 days Last 15 days
Date			# of cases	# of deaths
2020-03-02		​	1(n.a.)
⋮		​	1(=)
2020-03-04		​	4(+300%)
⋮		​	4(=)
2020-03-10		​	5(+25%)
⋮		​	5(=)
2020-03-12		​	10(+100%)
⋮		​	10(=)
2020-03-15		​	24(+140%)
⋮		​	24(=)
2020-03-19		​	36(+50%)
2020-03-20		​	47(+31%)
2020-03-21		​ ​	56(+19%)
2020-03-22		​ ​	67(+20%)
2020-03-23		​ ​	79(+18%)
2020-03-24		​ ​	86(+8.9%)
2020-03-25		​ ​	99(+15%)
2020-03-26		​ ​	105(+6.1%)
2020-03-27		​ ​	119(+13%)
2020-03-28		​ ​	130(+9.2%)
2020-03-29		​ ​	142(+9.2%)
2020-03-30		​ ​	162(+14%)
2020-03-31		​ ​	175(+8%)
⋮		​ ​	175(=)
2020-04-02		​ ​ ​	195(+11%)	1(n.a.)
2020-04-03		​ ​ ​	207(+6.2%)	1(=)
2020-04-04		​ ​ ​	219(+5.8%)	2(+100%)
⋮		​ ​ ​	219(=)	2(=)
2020-04-06		​ ​ ​	226(+3.2%)	2(=)
2020-04-07		​ ​ ​	237(+4.9%)	2(=)
2020-04-08		​ ​ ​	244(+3%)	2(=)
2020-04-09		​ ​ ​	250(+2.5%)	2(=)
2020-04-10		​ ​ ​	265(+6%)	2(=)
2020-04-11		​ ​ ​	278(+4.9%)	2(=)
2020-04-12		​ ​ ​	280(+0.72%)	2(=)
2020-04-13		​ ​ ​	291(+3.9%)	2(=)
2020-04-14		​ ​ ​	299(+2.7%)	2(=)
2020-04-15		​ ​ ​	314(+5%)	2(=)
2020-04-16		​ ​ ​	335(+6.7%)	2(=)
2020-04-17		​ ​ ​	342(+2.1%)	2(=)
2020-04-18		​ ​ ​	350(+2.3%)	3(+50%)
2020-04-19		​ ​ ​	367(+4.9%)	3(=)
2020-04-20		​ ​ ​	377(+2.7%)	5(+67%)
2020-04-21		​ ​ ​	412(+9.3%)	5(=)
2020-04-22		​ ​ ​	442(+7.3%)	6(+20%)
2020-04-23		​ ​ ​	479(+8.4%)	6(=)
2020-04-24		​ ​ ​	545(+14%)	7(+17%)
2020-04-25		​ ​ ​	614(+13%)	7(=)
2020-04-26		​ ​ ​	671(+9.3%)	9(+29%)
2020-04-27		​ ​ ​	736(+9.7%)	9(=)
2020-04-28		​ ​ ​	823(+12%)	9(=)
2020-04-29		​ ​ ​	882(+7.2%)	9(=)
2020-04-30		​ ​ ​	933(+5.8%)	9(=)
2020-05-01		​ ​ ​	1,024(+9.8%)	9(=)
2020-05-02		​ ​ ​	1,115(+8.9%)	9(=)
2020-05-03		​ ​ ​	1,182(+6%)	9(=)
2020-05-04		​ ​ ​	1,271(+7.5%)	10(+11%)
2020-05-05		​ ​ ​	1,329(+4.6%)	11(+10%)
2020-05-06		​ ​ ​	1,433(+7.8%)	12(+9.1%)
2020-05-07		​ ​ ​	1,492(+4.1%)	13(+8.3%)
2020-05-08		​ ​ ​	1,551(+4%)	13(=)
2020-05-09		​ ​ ​	1,634(+5.4%)	17(+31%)
2020-05-10		​ ​ ​	1,709(+4.6%)	19(+12%)
2020-05-11		​ ​ ​	1,886(+10%)	19(=)
2020-05-12		​ ​ ​	1,995(+5.8%)	19(=)
2020-05-13		​ ​ ​	2,105(+5.5%)	21(+11%)
2020-05-14		​ ​ ​	2,189(+4%)	23(+9.5%)
2020-05-15		​ ​ ​	2,310(+5.5%)	25(+8.7%)
2020-05-16		​ ​ ​	2,429(+5.2%)	25(=)
2020-05-17		​ ​ ​	2,480(+2.1%)	25(=)
2020-05-18		​ ​ ​	2,544(+2.6%)	26(+4%)
2020-05-19		​ ​ ​	2,617(+2.9%)	30(+15%)
2020-05-20		​ ​ ​	2,714(+3.7%)	30(=)
2020-05-21		​ ​ ​	2,812(+3.6%)	33(+10%)
2020-05-22		​ ​ ​	2,909(+3.4%)	33(=)
2020-05-23		​ ​ ​	2,976(+2.3%)	34(+3%)
2020-05-24		​ ​ ​	3,047(+2.4%)	35(+2.9%)
2020-05-25		​ ​ ​	3,130(+2.7%)	35(=)
2020-05-26		​ ​ ​	3,161(+0.99%)	36(+2.9%)
2020-05-27		​ ​ ​	3,253(+2.9%)	38(+5.6%)
2020-05-28		​ ​ ​	3,348(+2.9%)	39(+2.6%)
2020-05-29		​ ​ ​	3,429(+2.4%)	41(+5.1%)
2020-05-30		​ ​ ​	3,535(+3.1%)	42(+2.4%)
2020-05-31		​ ​ ​	3,645(+3.1%)	42(=)
2020-06-01		​ ​ ​	3,739(+2.6%)	42(=)
2020-06-02		​ ​ ​	3,836(+2.6%)	43(+2.4%)
2020-06-03		​ ​ ​	3,932(+2.5%)	45(+4.7%)
2020-06-04		​ ​ ​	4,021(+2.3%)	45(=)
2020-06-05		​ ​ ​	4,155(+3.3%)	45(=)
2020-06-06		​ ​ ​	4,249(+2.3%)	47(+4.4%)
2020-06-07		​ ​ ​	4,328(+1.9%)	49(+4.3%)
2020-06-08		​ ​ ​	4,427(+2.3%)	49(=)
2020-06-09		​ ​ ​	4,516(+2%)	52(+6.1%)
2020-06-10		​ ​ ​	4,640(+2.7%)	52(=)
2020-06-11		​ ​ ​	4,759(+2.6%)	55(+5.8%)
2020-06-12		​ ​ ​	4,851(+1.9%)	56(+1.8%)
2020-06-13		​ ​ ​	4,996(+3%)	60(+7.1%)
2020-06-14		​ ​ ​	5,090(+1.9%)	60(=)
2020-06-15		​ ​ ​	5,173(+1.6%)	64(+6.7%)
2020-06-16		​ ​ ​	5,247(+1.4%)	70(+9.4%)
2020-06-17		​ ​ ​	5,369(+2.3%)	73(+4.3%)
2020-06-18		​ ​ ​	5,475(+2%)	76(+4.1%)
2020-06-19		​ ​ ​	5,639(+3%)	79(+3.9%)
2020-06-20		​ ​ ​	5,783(+2.6%)	82(+3.8%)
2020-06-21		​ ​ ​	5,888(+1.8%)	84(+2.4%)
2020-06-22		​ ​ ​	5,970(+1.4%)	86(+2.4%)
2020-06-23		​ ​ ​	6,034(+1.1%)	89(+3.5%)
2020-06-24		​ ​ ​	6,129(+1.6%)	93(+4.5%)
2020-06-25		​ ​ ​	6,233(+1.7%)	94(+1.1%)
2020-06-26		​ ​ ​	6,354(+1.9%)	98(+4.3%)
2020-06-27		​ ​ ​	6,459(+1.7%)	102(+4.1%)
2020-06-28		​ ​ ​	6,586(+2%)	105(+2.9%)
2020-06-29		​ ​ ​	6,698(+1.7%)	108(+2.9%)
2020-06-30		​ ​ ​	6,793(+1.4%)	112(+3.7%)
2020-07-01		​ ​ ​	6,925(+1.9%)	116(+3.6%)
2020-07-02		​ ​ ​	7,054(+1.9%)	121(+4.3%)
2020-07-03		​ ​ ​	7,164(+1.6%)	125(+3.3%)
2020-07-04		​ ​ ​	7,272(+1.5%)	129(+3.2%)
2020-07-05		​ ​ ​	7,400(+1.8%)	133(+3.1%)
2020-07-06		​ ​ ​	7,478(+1.1%)	136(+2.3%)
2020-07-07		​ ​ ​	7,547(+0.92%)	137(+0.74%)
2020-07-08		​ ​ ​	7,657(+1.5%)	141(+2.9%)
2020-07-09		​ ​ ​	7,784(+1.7%)	143(+1.4%)
2020-07-10		​ ​ ​	7,882(+1.3%)	145(+1.4%)
2020-07-11		​ ​ ​	8,014(+1.7%)	145(=)
2020-07-12		​ ​ ​	8,135(+1.5%)	148(+2.1%)
2020-07-13		​ ​ ​	8,198(+0.77%)	150(+1.4%)
2020-07-14		​ ​ ​	8,243(+0.55%)	150(=)
2020-07-15		​ ​ ​	8,369(+1.5%)	153(+2%)
2020-07-16		​ ​ ​	8,481(+1.3%)	156(+2%)
2020-07-17		​ ​ ​	8,544(+0.74%)	160(+2.6%)
2020-07-18		​ ​ ​	8,669(+1.5%)	163(+1.9%)
2020-07-19		​ ​ ​	8,810(+1.6%)	167(+2.5%)
2020-07-20		​ ​ ​	8,948(+1.6%)	170(+1.8%)
2020-07-21		​ ​ ​	8,985(+0.41%)	174(+2.4%)
2020-07-22		​ ​ ​	9,121(+1.5%)	177(+1.7%)
2020-07-23		​ ​ ​	9,266(+1.6%)	178(+0.56%)
2020-07-24		​ ​ ​	9,422(+1.7%)	182(+2.2%)
2020-07-25		​ ​ ​	9,552(+1.4%)	187(+2.7%)
2020-07-26		​ ​ ​	9,681(+1.4%)	191(+2.1%)
2020-07-27		​ ​ ​	9,764(+0.86%)	194(+1.6%)
2020-07-28		​ ​ ​	9,805(+0.42%)	198(+2.1%)
2020-07-29		​ ​ ​	9,961(+1.6%)	200(+1%)
2020-07-30		​ ​ ​	10,106(+1.5%)	200(=)
2020-07-31		​ ​ ​	10,232(+1.2%)	204(+2%)
2020-08-01		​ ​ ​	10,284(+0.51%)	209(+2.5%)
2020-08-02		​ ​ ​	10,344(+0.58%)	209(=)
2020-08-03		​ ​ ​	10,386(+0.41%)	211(+0.96%)
2020-08-04		​ ​ ​	10,432(+0.44%)	214(+1.4%)
2020-08-05		​ ​ ​	10,538(+1%)	218(+1.9%)
2020-08-06		​ ​ ​	10,715(+1.7%)	223(+2.3%)
2020-08-07		​ ​ ​	10,887(+1.6%)	225(+0.9%)
2020-08-08		​ ​ ​	11,003(+1.1%)	229(+1.8%)
2020-08-09		​ ​ ​	11,175(+1.6%)	232(+1.3%)
2020-08-10		​ ​ ​	11,312(+1.2%)	236(+1.7%)
2020-08-11		​ ​ ​	11,380(+0.6%)	238(+0.85%)
2020-08-12		​ ​ ​	11,587(+1.8%)	242(+1.7%)
2020-08-13		​ ​ ​	11,740(+1.3%)	244(+0.83%)
2020-08-14		​ ​ ​	11,872(+1.1%)	249(+2%)
2020-08-15		​ ​ ​	12,032(+1.3%)	251(+0.8%)
Sources: various news sources and state health department websites. See Timeline Table and Timeline narrative for sources.

March 2020

On 2 March 2020, a 54-year-old man from France was the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in Senegal,[8] living in the Almadies Arrondissement of Dakar, having been tested positive at the Pasteur Institute in Dakar.[8] He had travelled on Air Senegal on 29 February 2020.[8] Senegal became the second Sub-Saharan country to report confirmed cases after Nigeria.[9] The second confirmed case of COVID-19 was a French expat who came to Dakar from France. They are quoted as being in a "comfortable" condition.[10]

By 4 March, the number of cases rose to four, with both cases being foreign nationals.[11] The first case was the wife of the first case in Senegal, who arrived in the country on 19 February. The other case was a Briton from London, who came to Senegal on 24 February.[12]

Basketball Africa League postponed the start of their inaugural season on 6 March 2020, which would have taken place in Dakar.[13] This came as fear mounted over religious events and travel, especially those related to the Grand Magal, a Mouride festivity which occurs in Touba.[14]

On 10 March, Senegalese Health Minister Abdoulaye Diouf Sarr told local press that the government would call off religious events if advised to do so. On the same day, a Senegalese national returning from Italy confirmed positive, becoming the fifth case in the country.[15]

On 12 March, five more cases were announced in Senegal, which were family members of a confirmed case of the Senegalese national returning from Italy.[16] One of the victims was in the holy city of Touba, despite many people being convinced by clerics that they were immune to the coronavirus.[17]

As of 15 March, there were 24 confirmed cases in Senegal.[18] Senegal imposed travel restrictions, banned cruise ships, and closed schools for three weeks in response to the coronavirus. They also banned public gatherings for a month, including Muslim and Christian pilgrimages.[19]

On 23 March, Senegal declared a state of emergency.[20]

By the end of the month there had been 175 confirmed cases, 40 of whom recovered while 135 remained active cases at the end of the month.[21]

April 2020

In April there 758 new cases, raising the total number of confirmed cases to 933. The death toll was 9. The number of recovered patients increased to 334, leaving 590 active cases at the end of the month.[22]

May 2020

Senegal experienced a 30% rise in COVID-19 infections on May 11[23] and eased restrictions on mosques and churches and relaxed the curfew on May 12.[23] Senegal has reported 1,886 coronavirus cases and 19 deaths.[23]

During May there were 2712 new cases, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 3645. The death toll rose to 42. The number of recovered patients increased to 1801, leaving 1802 active cases at the end of the month.[24]

June 2020

There were 3148 new cases in June, bringing the total number of cases to 6793. The death toll rose to 112. The number of recovered patients increased to 4431, leaving 2250 active cases at the end of the month.[25]

July 2020

In July there were 3439 new cases, raising the total number of confirmed cases to 10232. The death toll rose to 205. The number of recovered patients increased to 6776, leaving 3251 active cases at the end of the month.[26]

August 2020

As cases continue to increase reaching 11,003 (66% of those recovered) and 229 deaths (27) on the 8^th of August, Senegal Minister of the Interior announced new restrictions including an enphase on mandatory use of masks in closed spaces, a ban on gatherings at beaches, sports grounds, public spaces and theatres as well as prohibition of all demonstrations on the public highway, especially in the Dakar region.(28, 29)

Health education

In Senegal, graffiti artists engage actively in the fight against the coronavirus, by creating murals relating to COVID-19 on city walls, to spread information and warn the population and also to support healthcare personnel confronting the disease.[27]

See also

• COVID-19 pandemic in Africa
• COVID-19 pandemic by country and territory
• 2020 in Senegal
• HIV/AIDS in Africa
• Western African Ebola virus epidemic
• 1918 Spanish flu pandemic
• 1957–1958 influenza pandemic

Literature

• Leveau Mac Elhone, A., 2020. Le Graffiti pour sauver des vies : l'art s'engage contre le coronavirus au Sénégal, Paris : Éditions Dapper.

References

1. "COVID-19 Dashboard by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University (JHU)". 15 August 2020.
2. Elsevier. "Novel Coronavirus Information Center". Elsevier Connect. Archived from the original on 30 January 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
3. Reynolds, Matt (4 March 2020). "What is coronavirus and how close is it to becoming a pandemic?". Wired UK. ISSN 1357-0978. Archived from the original on 5 March 2020. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
4. "Crunching the numbers for coronavirus". Imperial News. Archived from the original on 19 March 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
5. "High consequence infectious diseases (HCID); Guidance and information about high consequence infectious diseases and their management in England". GOV.UK. Archived from the original on 3 March 2020. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
6. "World Federation Of Societies of Anaesthesiologists – Coronavirus". www.wfsahq.org. Archived from the original on 12 March 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
7. Future scenarios of the healthcare burden of COVID-19 in low- or middle-income countries, MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis at Imperial College London.
8. "Coronavirus : Le Sénégal enregistre son premier cas". Le Quotidien (in French). 2 March 2020. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
9. "Senegal government confirms nation's second coronavirus case". Bloomberg. 3 March 2020. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
10. "Second case of coronavirus in Senegal as African sports shelved". RFI. 5 March 2020. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
11. "Senegal confirms third and fourth coronavirus cases". Reuters. 4 March 2020. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
12. "Senegal confirms two more coronavirus cases". The East African. 5 March 2020. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
13. "Basketball Africa League postpones start of inaugural season". NBA.com (Press release). 3 March 2020. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
14. Paquette, Danielle & Tall, Borso (6 March 2020). "Coronavirus fears rise in Senegal as thousands travel for religious festivals". The Washington Post. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
15. "Senegal confirms fifth case of COVID-19". aa.com.tr. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
16. "Senegal announces 5 new coronavirus cases". News24. 12 March 2020. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
17. "Coronavirus hits Senegal's holy city as cleric declares faithful are immune". Africanews. 12 March 2020. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
18. "Senegal orders all schools closed in response to coronavirus". Reuters. 14 March 2020. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
19. Magome, Mogomot Si (15 March 2020). "Several African nations roll out measures to fight virus". Yahoo News. Associated Press. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
20. "Ivory Coast, Senegal declare emergencies, impose curfews in coronavirus response". Reuters. 23 March 2020. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
21. "Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) situation report 72" (PDF). World Health Organization. 1 April 2020. p. 7. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
22. "Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) situation report 102" (PDF). World Health Organization. 1 May 2020. p. 5. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
23. "Senegal: Govt Eases COVID Restrictions Tuesday, a Day After Surge in Cases". allAfrica.com. 12 May 2020. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
24. "Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) situation report 133" (PDF). World Health Organization. 1 June 2020. p. 6. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
25. "Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) situation report 163" (PDF). World Health Organization. 1 July 2020. p. 6. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
26. "Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) situation report 194" (PDF). World Health Organization. 1 August 2020. p. 4. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
27. "Graffiti to save lives". African Studies Centre Leiden. 2 July 2020. Retrieved 18 July 2020.

External links

• Senegal: Street Children Among Those Most at Risk for COVID-19 (VOA)
• Senegal: Opening Mosques During Pandemic Divides Muslim Community (VOA)
• Senegal: "My main weapons: my smartphone and my voice"