The COVID-19 pandemic in Senegal was a part of the worldwide pandemic of

coronavirus disease 2019 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include f ...

() caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). The virus was confirmed to have reached

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

on March 2, 2020. __TOC__

Background

On 12 January 2020, the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...

(WHO) confirmed that a

novel coronavirus Novel coronavirus (nCoV) is a provisional name given to coronaviruses of medical significance before a permanent name is decided upon. Although coronaviruses are endemic in humans and infections normally mild, such as the common cold (caused by ...

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. The case fatality ratio for COVID-19 has been much lower than SARS of 2003, but the

transmission Transmission or transmit may refer to: Science and technology * Power transmission ** Electric power transmission ** Transmission (mechanical device), technology that allows controlled application of power *** Automatic transmission *** Manual tra ...

has been significantly greater, with a significant total death toll. Model-based simulations for Senegal suggest that the 95% confidence interval for the time-varying reproduction number ''R_t'' exceeded 1.0 from November 2020 to January 2021.

Timeline

March 2020

* On 2 March 2020, a 54-year-old man from

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

was the first confirmed case of

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

in Senegal, living in the

Almadies Arrondissement Almadies Arrondissement is an arrondissement of the Dakar Department in the Dakar Region of Senegal. Almadies is considered the most upmarket residential neighbourhood in Central & Western Africa and it holds the residences of numerous fore ...

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The Departments of Senegal, department of Dakar has a population of 1,278,469, and the population of the Dakar metropolitan area was at 4.0 mill ...

, having been tested positive at the

Pasteur Institute The Pasteur Institute (, ) is a French non-profit private foundation dedicated to the study of biology, micro-organisms, diseases, and vaccines. It is named after Louis Pasteur, who invented pasteurization and vaccines for anthrax and rabies. Th ...

in Dakar. He had travelled on

Air Senegal Air Senegal is the flag carrier of the Republic of Senegal. Created in 2016, it is state owned through investment arm Caisse des Dépots et Consignation du Sénégal. It is based at Blaise Diagne International Airport in Dakar, Senegal. His ...

on 29 February 2020. Senegal became the second

Sub-Saharan Sub-Saharan Africa is the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lie south of the Sahara. These include Central Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa, and West Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the list of sovereign states and ...

country to report confirmed cases after

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

. The second confirmed case of COVID-19 was a French expat who came to

from France. They are quoted as being in a "comfortable" condition. * By 4 March, the number of cases rose to four, with both cases being foreign nationals. 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 British people or Britons, also known colloquially as Brits, are the citizens of the United Kingdom, the British Overseas Territories, and the Crown dependencies.: British nationality law governs modern British citizenship and nationality, w ...

from

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, who came to Senegal on 24 February. *

Basketball Africa League The Basketball Africa League (BAL) is the premier men's basketball league in Africa. Founded in 2019, the league was established and is co-organized by NBA Africa and the FIBA, International Basketball Federation (FIBA). Each season typically r ...

postponed the start of their inaugural season on 6 March 2020, which would have taken place in

. This came as fear mounted over religious events and travel, especially those related to the Grand Magal, a

Mouride The Mouride brotherhood (, ''aṭ-Ṭarīqat al-Murīdiyyah'' or simply , ''al-Murīdiyyah'') is a large ''tariqa'' (Sufism, Sufi order) most prominent in Senegal and The Gambia with headquarters in the city of Touba, which is a holy city for t ...

festivity which occurs in

Touba Touba (Hassaniya Arabic: , 'Felicity'; Wolof: Tuubaa) is a city in central Senegal, part of Diourbel Region and Mbacké district. With a population of 1,120,824 in 2023, it is the second most populated Senegalese city after Dakar. It is the h ...

. * 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 Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

confirmed positive, becoming the fifth case in the country. * 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. One of the victims was in the holy city of

, despite many people being convinced by clerics that they were immune to the coronavirus. * As of 15 March, there were 24 confirmed cases in Senegal. Senegal imposed travel restrictions, banned

cruise ships Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports of call, where passengers may go on tours known as " ...

, and closed schools for three weeks in response to the coronavirus. They also banned public gatherings for a month, including Muslim and Christian pilgrimages. * On 23 March, Senegal declared a

state of emergency A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state before, during, o ...

. * 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.

April to June 2020

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

July to September 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. * As cases continued to increase, reaching 11,003 (66% of those recovered) and 229 deaths on 8 August, Senegal's Minister of the Interior announced new restrictions including an emphasis 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. * Judd Devermont, director of the Africa program at the

Center for Strategic and International Studies The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) is an American think tank based in Washington, D.C. From its founding in 1962 until 1987, it was an affiliate of Georgetown University, initially named the Center for Strategic and Inte ...

praised Senegal's handling of the pandemic
second-best
in the world (after

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

). * There were 3,379 new cases in August, raising the total number of confirmed cases to 13,611. The death toll rose to 284. There were 3,888 active cases at the end of the month, representing an increase of 20% from the end of July. * There were 1,108 new cases in September, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 14,919. The death toll rose to 309. The number of recovered patients increased to 12,231, leaving 2,379 active cases at the end of the month.

October to December 2020

* There were 697 new cases in October, bringing the total number of confirmed cases 15,616. The death toll rose to 324. The number of recovered patients increased to 14,853, leaving 439 active cases at the end of the month. * There were 491 new cases in November, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 16,107. The death toll rose to 333. The number of recovered patients increased to 15,627, leaving 147 active cases at the end of the month. * There were 3,033 new cases in December, raising the total number of confirmed cases to 19,140. The death toll rose to 410. The number of recovered patients increased to 17,254, leaving 1,476 active cases at the end of the month.

January to March 2021

* On January 9, 2021, Health Minister Ousseynou Badiane said Senegal does not have sufficient cold storage facilities for either the Pfizer–BioNTech or

Moderna COVID-19 vaccine The Moderna COVID19 vaccine, sold under the brand name Spikevax, is a COVID-19 vaccine developed by the American company Moderna, the United States National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), and the Biomedical Advanced ...

, and the country is awaiting vaccines through the World Health Organization-backed

COVAX COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access, abbreviated as COVAX, is a worldwide initiative aimed at equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines directed by the GAVI vaccine alliance, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), and the World He ...

. * The death toll reached 480 on January 12. * Police used tear gas to break up a demonstration in

Ngor, Dakar Ngor ( in Wolof) is a commune d'arrondissement of the city of Dakar, Senegal. As of 2013 it had a population of 17,383. The westernmost point of the country and the mainland African continent is located in Ngor. Ngor is one of the four original ...

after President

Macky Sall Macky Sall (, , ; born 11 December 1961) is a Senegalese politician who served as the fourth president of Senegal from 2012 to 2024. He previously served as the eighth Prime Minister of Senegal, prime minister from 2004 to 2007, under President ...

declared a 9 p.m.–5 a.m. curfew in

and

Thiès Region Thiès (; ; Noon: ''Chess'') is the third largest city in Senegal with a population of 391,253 in 2023. It lies east of Dakar on the N2 road and at the junction of railway lines to Dakar, Bamako and St-Louis. It is the capital of Thiès Regio ...

. Other demonstrations took place in Medina and

Yoff Yoff (; ) is a town (''commune d'arrondissement''), part of the city (''commune'') of Dakar, located in Senegal. It lies north of downtown Dakar and immediately north of Léopold Sédar Senghor International Airport. The town is built along the br ...

areas and suburban

Pikine Pikine is a city in the Pikine Department of the Dakar Region of Senegal. Lying to the east of Dakar city centre, at the 2013 Census it had a population of 1,170,791. The department includes the villages of Yeumbeul, Thiaroye, Mbao, and Keur Mas ...

, Guédiawaye, and Thiaroye. * A first case of the B.1.1.7 variant was detected on 28 January. * There were 7,787 new cases in January, raising the total number of confirmed cases to 26,927. The death toll rose to 638. The number of recovered patients increased to 22,145, leaving 4,144 active cases at the end of the month. * Mass vaccination began on 26 February, initially with 200,000 doses of the Sinopharm BIBP vaccine. There were 7,593 new cases in February, raising the total number of confirmed cases to 34,520. The death toll rose to 872. The number of recovered patients increased to 28,894, leaving 4,754 active cases at the end of the month. * There were 4,262 new cases in March, raising the total number of confirmed cases to 38,782. The death toll rose to 1054. The number of recovered patients increased to 37,434, leaving 294 active cases at the end of the month.

April to June 2021

* There were 1,562 new cases in April, taking the total number of confirmed cases to 40,344. The death toll rose to 1107. The number of recovered patients increased to 39,083, leaving 154 active cases at the end of the month. * There were 1,072 new cases in May, taking the total number of confirmed cases to 41,416. The death toll rose to 1139. The number of recovered patients increased to 40,070, leaving 207 active cases at the end of the month. * There were 1,541 new cases in June, taking the total number of confirmed cases to 42,957. The death toll rose to 1166. The number of recovered patients increased to 41,354, leaving 437 active cases at the end of the month.

July to September 2021

* There were 19,333 new cases in July, raising the total number of confirmed cases to 62,290. The death toll rose to 1353. The number of recovered patients increased to 47,136, leaving 13,800 active cases at the end of the month. The number of vaccinated persons stood at 806,510. * There were 10,515 new cases in August, raising the total number of confirmed cases to 72,805. The death toll rose to 1765. The number of recovered patients increased to 62,014, leaving 9,025 active cases at the end of the month. The number of vaccinated persons stood at 1,167,364. * There were 970 new cases in September, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 73,775. The death toll rose to 1858. The number of recovered patients increased to 71,792, leaving 124 active cases at the end of the month. The number of vaccinated persons stood at 1,251,403.

October to December 2021

* There were 142 new cases in October, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 73,917. The death toll rose to 1878. The number of recovered patients increased to 72,019, leaving 20 active cases at the end of the month. The number of vaccinated persons stood at 1,292,103. * There were 73 new cases in November, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 73,990. The death toll rose to 1885. The number of recovered patients increased to 72,093, leaving 11 active cases at the end of the month. The number of vaccinated persons stood at 1,327,768. * On 5 December, the Institute for Health Research, Epidemiological Surveillance and Training (IRESSEF) announced the country had recorded its first case of the

Omicron variant Omicron (B.1.1.529) is a Variants of SARS-CoV-2, variant of SARS-CoV-2 first reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) by the Network for Genomics Surveillance in South Africa on 24 November 2021. It was first detected in Botswana and has ...

. * There were 1347 new cases in December, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 75,337. The death toll rose to 1890. The number of recovered patients increased to 72,645, leaving 801 active cases at the end of the month. The number of vaccinated persons stood at 1,365,479. Modelling by WHO's Regional Office for Africa suggests that due to under-reporting, the true cumulative number of infections by the end of 2021 was around 7.5 million while the true number of COVID-19 deaths was around 6,066.

January to March 2022

* There were 9,662 new cases in January, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 84,999. The death toll rose to 1946. The number of recovered patients increased to 80,308, leaving 2,744 active cases at the end of the month. The number of vaccinated persons stood at 1,394,280. * There were 694 new cases in February, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 85,693. The death toll rose to 1960. The number of recovered patients increased to 83,631, leaving 101 active cases at the end of the month. The number of vaccinated persons stood at 1,447,562. * There were 208 new cases in March, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 85,901. The death toll rose to 1965. The number of recovered patients increased to 83,903, leaving 32 active cases at the end of the month. The number of vaccinated persons stood at 1,462,588.

April to June 2022

* There were 100 new cases in April, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 86,001. The death toll rose to 1966. The number of recovered patients increased to 84,017, leaving 18 active cases at the end of the month. The number of vaccinated persons stood at 1,465,788. * There were 107 new cases in May, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 86,108. The death toll remained unchanged. The number of recovered patients increased to 84,120, leaving 22 active cases at the end of the month. The number of vaccinated persons stood at 1,883,218. * There were 227 new cases in June, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 86,335. The death toll rose to 1968. The number of recovered patients increased to 84,336, leaving 30 active cases at the end of the month.

July to September 2022

* There were 1,051 new cases in July, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 87,386. The death toll remained unchanged. The number of recovered patients increased to 85,129, leaving 289 active cases at the end of the month. * There were 726 new cases in August, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 88,112. The death toll remained unchanged. The number of recovered patients increased to 86,002, leaving 141 active cases at the end of the month. * There were 307 new cases in September, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 88,419. The death toll remained unchanged. The number of recovered patients increased to 86,339, leaving 111 active cases at the end of the month.

October to December 2022

* Samples taken between May and October showed that the rapidly spreading BA.5.2.1.7 variant was present in Senegal. * There were 386 new cases in October, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 88,805. The death toll remained unchanged. The number of recovered patients increased to 86,747, leaving 89 active cases at the end of the month. * There were 68 new cases in November, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 88,873. The death toll remained unchanged. * There were 27 new cases in December, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 88,900. The death toll remained unchanged. The number of recovered patients increased to 86,915, leaving 16 active cases at the end of the month.

January to December 2023

* There were 150 confirmed cases in 2023, raising the total number of cases to 89,050. The death toll rose to 1971.

Statistics

Confirmed new cases per day

Confirmed deaths per day

Health education

In Senegal,

graffiti Graffiti (singular ''graffiti'', or ''graffito'' only in graffiti archeology) is writing or drawings made on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from simple written "monikers" to elabor ...

artists engage actively in the fight against the coronavirus, by creating

mural A mural is any piece of Graphic arts, graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' ...

s relating to COVID-19 on city walls, to spread information and warn the population and also to support healthcare personnel confronting the disease.

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

External links

* ttps://allafrica.com/stories/202005190173.html Senegal: Opening Mosques During Pandemic Divides Muslim Community (VOA)br>Senegal: "My main weapons: my smartphone and my voice"
{{COVID-19 pandemic

Disease outbreaks in Senegal 2020 in Senegal 2021 in Senegal