Mali has announced a total lock down of it country after recording two cases of the deadly coronavirus. Â The president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, made the announcement yesterday during a live telecast.
In the statement of the president the victims were two returning travellers  a 49 year-old woman from Bamako and a 62 year-old man living in Kayes. They arrived in the country from France on March 12 and 16, respectively. The government said the two patients were being taken care of by the country’s health authorities.
In his broadcast the president mentioned that the curfew will begin from  21:00 to 05:00, from Thursday and all land borders will be closed to curb the spread of the virus.
Freight will still be allowed into the country and markets will remain open. Keita further disclosed that amid the lockdown, a long-delayed parliamentary election whose first round is planned for Sunday will go ahead, although in “scrupulous respect” of health measures.
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