Amid the fact that, COVID-19 cases stand at 685, some dwellers of the capital city give deaf ear as they regrouped themselves in bars as being the best confinement house ever.
The exponential increase in the total tally of coronavirus cases in Cameroon, still leaves some Yaounde city dwellers Indifferent as they keep fronting the stay home campaign, package themselves in a nearby offie to share some drinks with friends, colleagues, and love ones in the name of confinement.
In some neighbourhoods of the political capital of Cameroon, most owners of off-licences play tricks in a bid to maintain their customers and sell as they used to before the government’s instructions to curb the spread of COVID-19 were declared.
With this, they name such harbouring centres as ‘confinement bars’, which to them is the best means to forget about the existence of the coronavirus.
Such acts can be seen in major neighbourhoods of Yaounde where, bar owners close their bars, pretending to obey government’s instructions, while carrying out their activities at ease. In view to this, they confine some customers within the bar, others outside while the doors are closed.
Talking to a Liquor store owner at the Tsinga neighbourhood in Yaounde, Patricia Echong said she has no other choice than selling her drinks with her door closed. “That is the only thing I do to survive.
Most customers drink as from 6pm and the government is asking us to close at that same time.
I hardly sell during the day, so, I need to catch up. If I close at 6pm as they say, who will feed my family for me?” she asked.
She added that, when she heard of what government said about bars to be systematically closed at 6pm, she did not welcome the message because she thought of the loss she will have to endure as a result of the coronavirus.
“At times when the police come, all customers run I to the bar. But, once they go, we continue. Life isn’t easy, we need to struggle and coronavirus will not stop us,” she said and added that they are not against government’s efforts to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, yet, they cannot do otherwise because of bad economy.
According to Julio Ngaba, it is useless for the government to close bars at 6pm when that is the time at which people need to relax and forget their worries.
“even if government decides to close all bars in Yaounde, I will still drink even through the back door, because they will just close bars and not close brewery industries. This means that, as long as beer is been produced, we Cameroonians will drink, whether with or without coronavirus.”
Many Yaounde city dwellers however attest that, off-licences are the best confinement rooms ever.
Likewise, John affirms that, government decision has no effect on him as he drinks even till 10pm. To him, Liquor stores are the best during this confinement period than the house.
“Asking us to stay home without alcohol is bad, but, closing bars at a time it is suppose to be open is worse. Can you imagine the life of Cameroonians without taking beer for one week? It is impossible because most Cameroonians live on alcohol. As for me, the bar has been my confinement room.”
Going by public opinion, ‘confinement bars’ go operational everyday. At times, bar owners or even the customers agree to settle police officers with one bottle of beer each or give them something in a bid to work at ease. Some have identified police personnel whom when they see, they need not panic for, they know how to settle them without anyone noticing the kind of business they do.
However, if strict measures are not taken by government to subdue such acts, the fight against preventing, curbing and limiting the propagation of COVID-19 in Cameroon will not be effective.
This is because, such behaviour serve as stomping block to efforts made to contain the pandemic within the national territory.
By A B O
