This archive report was first published on 8 July 2020.
On Wednesday, Sudan began to ease its Covid-19 lockdown restrictions, allowing civil servants to return to work and reopening public offices. The capital city, Khartoum, and several other cities had been under total lockdown for nearly three months in an effort to curb the spread of coronavirus infections.
The Minister of the Presidency Affairs, Omar Manis, stated that working hours in state institutions would be from 8am to 3pm. The government emphasized that all public officers must wear face masks and sanitize as guided by the Health ministry.
The Supreme Committee for Health Emergencies, the apex organ in charge of Covid-19 control in Sudan, has also eased curfew hours in the capital from 6pm to 6am. This is a significant relaxation from the previous curfew hours of 6am to 3pm.
Additionally, the Committee has allowed the return-to-work for public and private institutions, the reopening of markets, and travel between Sudanese states, with the exception of link bridges, which remain closed during the curfew.
The local government in Khartoum State has stressed the importance of adhering to social distancing, wearing face masks, and washing or sanitizing hands. Failure to comply with these health guidelines may result in another lockdown.
Employers have been directed to plan staff rotations to ensure that only 30-50% of workers are in office buildings at any given time.
Notably, the Ministry of Education has announced that schools will reopen for pupils sitting the basic stage certificate exams on July 10, which had been postponed due to the pandemic.
Sudan has registered 9,997 cases of Covid-19 with 620 deaths since the outbreak of the pandemic.
