Dakar authorities tear down informal shops to clean neighborhoods in coronavirus fight
Record ID:
1465285
Dakar authorities tear down informal shops to clean neighborhoods in coronavirus fight
- Title: Dakar authorities tear down informal shops to clean neighborhoods in coronavirus fight
- Date: 22nd March 2020
- Summary: DAKAR, SENEGAL (MARCH 22, 2020) (REUTERS) VIEW OF MEDINA NEIGHBORHOOD FROM ROOFTOP BULLDOZER TEARING DOWN SHOPS ON MAIN MARKET STREETS PEOPLE WATCHING BULLDOZER TEARING UP SHOPS BULLDOZER MOVING FORWARD AS WORKER SHOWS THE WAY TO DRIVER PEOPLE WALKING AWAY PEOPLE WATCHING FROM THEIR BALCONY VARIOUS OF BULLDOZER TEARNING DOWN SHOPS AS PEOPLE WATCH FROM ROOFTOP (SOUNDBITE) (Wolof/French) STREET RESIDENT, MR TOURE, SAYING: "I don't think so because they said they will clear the area before the coronavirus arrived, so they took advantage of the situation to kick us out, it's not because of the coronnavirus." SANITATION WORKERS PICKING UP GARBAGE WORKERS PLACING GARBAGE IN THE BACK OF GARBAGE TRUCK LOCAL RESIDENT PICKING UP WHAT'S LEFT WHILE SANITATION WORKER CLEARS AREA WORKERS PUTTING WOODEN SHOP COUNTER IN GARBAGE TRUCK (SOUNDBITE) (French) LOCAL RESIDENT AND BUSINESS OWNER, PACO JACKSON THIAM, SAYING: "An entire neighborhood can't become a market, it's not possible. We are sourrounded, there are diseases, microbes, it's not clean, we need hygiene at the very least . I agree with it (clearing of shops), the neighborhood needs to be clean, people need to live in a clean environment otherwise the coronavirus can spread very easily." PILES OF WOOD PEOPLE MOVING WOODEN SHOP COUNTER SHOPKEEPER GATHERING DRIED BEANS FROM THE GROUND (SOUNDBITE) (Wolof) MEDINA MUNICIPALITY EMPLOYEE, ASTOU SARR, SAYING: "People are saying the mayor is not doing a good job but the mayor doesn't have bad intentions, what he is doing here is to keep the cronavirus away." SANITATION WORKER PUTTING SPRAYER ON BACK WORKERS ENTERING MARKET TO SPRAY SMOKE IN MARKET CORRIDOR VARIOUS OF SANITATION WORKER SPRAYING MARKET (SOUNDBITE) (French) HEAD OF THE LOCAL HYGIENE BRIGADE, ADJUTANT MAJEUR ALLAN'GOM, SAYING: "The people are very happy with the actions of the national service for hygiene which are sanitary protection actions. The clearing of the street caused a few problems with people not being happy. There is a difference between clearing operations and the large scale disinfection operations which were carried out by the national service for hygiene and which are liked by the local population." SANITATION WORKER SPRAYING MAIN ROAD LEADING TO MARKET
- Embargoed: 5th April 2020 21:48
- Keywords: Dakar Senegal coronavirus shops
- Location: DAKAR, SENEGAL
- City: DAKAR, SENEGAL
- Country: Senegal
- Topics: Health/Medicine
- Reuters ID: LVA001C64WF2F
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Authorities in Dakar razed neighbourhoods down to the ground and sprayed a busy market with disinfectant in the heart of the capital city on Sunday (March 22) to stop the spread of COVID-19.
Sanitation workers from the Medina municipality drove a bulldozer though the streets to destroy informal shops as traders and residents watched from rooftops and balconies.
The radical clearance was originally part of a programme to clean up Dakar but was brought forward when the coronavirus hit Senegal. The country on Sunday said it had a total of 67 confirmed cases.
The virus has hit African states later than in China, Europe and the United States. Leaders and health experts say they need to stop the virus getting to the stages reached in China and Europe because their health care systems would collapse.
Mister Toure, a local shopkeeper complained that he had been given very little time to prepare for the clear out and accused the mayor of Dakar of using the coronavirus as an excuse to move all the traders out.
But Another local business owner said it was time they cleaned up the city because hygiene was poor.
On Sunday the national police said it was looking at measures to organise a possible confinement of targeted localities such as the religious city of Touba, considered to have the highest number of cases, as well as Thies and Dakar.
(Production: Christophe Van Der Perre) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2020. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None