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Americas and the Caribbean
OpinionComment
Daniel Wagner
Daniel Wagner

Opinion | What Congo can teach America about the fight against the coronavirus

  • The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s widely observed rules on mask-wearing, hand hygiene, and sound testing and travel protocols, offer a sharp contrast to flailing US efforts to contain the virus spread
  • The difference is, sadly for the US, also reflected in the infection and fatality count

Reading Time:3 minutes
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An airport worker takes the temperature of a passenger arriving at N'djili International Airport in Kinshasa on August 15. Congo’s multiple battles with Ebola have helped to prepare it for the fight against Covid-19. Photo: AFP
Daniel Wagner
Having just completed a week-long visit to the Congo, I was struck by how well it has established protocols for managing Covid-19 when compared to the US. The comparison is a testament to how well most other countries in the world are managing the spread of the pandemic versus how poorly the US continues to do so. There are many lessons to be learned in the process.
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During my stay in Kinshasa, everyone I came into contact with wore masks. Before I could enter my hotel, my temperature was taken, and I was required to use hand sanitiser and to walk through an enclosed space where a mist of disinfectant was sprayed on me – every time I entered the hotel.

Every government or commercial building I entered checked my temperature, and I had to sanitise my hands. Some also sprayed me with disinfectant, like in the hotel.

Contrast this experience with what is commonplace in America. In my state of Connecticut, although there has been a mandatory mask law since April, some people choose to wear them and others do not. Nationally, of course, there is great variation about the official approach to mask wearing.

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Some establishments offer hand sanitiser, others do not. I have never seen a disinfectant spray being used anywhere on entering a commercial establishment. Virtually no one’s temperature is checked before entering.

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I was required to obtain a Covid-19 test three days before boarding the plane to Kinshasa. If I had tested positive, I would not have been allowed to board the flight.

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