Sudan extends coronavirus lockdown in Khartoum state

The coronavirus curfew, which operates from 3pm to 6am, has been extended a number of times.

2 min read

18 June, 2020

Sudan has extended its coronavirus curfew [AFP/Getty]

Sudan is extending lockdown measures brought in to halt the spread of coronavirus in Khartoum state until 29 June, its Security and Defence Council announced Wednesday according to Reuters.

The coronavirus curfew, which operates from 3pm to 6am has been extended a number of times over the past months.

Authorities intially imposed the curfew in the capital Khartoum for three weeks from 18 April, which combined with its twin city Omdurman has a population of more than 5 million.

Sudan's Security and Defence Council also said it will start to bring back Sudanese expatriates stranded abroad from Sunday.

Unless the expatriates have a certificate proving they do not have coronavirus, those returning will have to remain in quarantine centres until tested.

Since March, Sudan has imposed a state of emergency, shuttering schools and universities, and almost totally closing its borders.

The country also extended its closure of airports to international flights until the end of the month.

Sudan has registered 8,020 confirmed cases of Covid-19 and 487 deaths, according to the John Hopkins coronavirus tracker.

Sudan's healthcare system has been weakened by decades of war and sanctions. The country is still reeling from last year's uprising that toppled former president Omar Al-Bashir.

Sudanese protesters, some clad in masks as a precaution due to the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic, gathered in the capital Khartoum on 3 June to mark the first anniversary of a raid on an anti-government sit-in.

Scores of protesters were killed on that day last year when armed men in military fatigues stormed the sprawling encampment outside Khartoum's army headquarters.

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