Cameroon has hit the 20,000 mark in persons tested positive of the COVID-19 since the first cases was reported in the country on March 6.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Public Health, as at September 10, the number of persons tested positive stood at 20,009 while recoveries 18, 837, which represents a 94.12% recovery rate while 415 deaths have been recorded so far.

Figures posted equally reveal out of the positive cases, there are 742 active cases, including two under oxygen and 81 as in-patients. The bed occupancy rate stands at 2,5 percent, fatality rate 2,08 percent while the severity rate stands at 0,26 percent, figures from the Ministry of Public Health show.

During Saturday’s daily press briefing on the epidemiological situation in Cameroon, Dr Linda Esso, Sub Director in charge of pandemics and Epidemics at the Ministry of Public Health said the figures show only a collective fight can eradicate the virus.

With Cameroon continuing to record positive results at the start of the fourth operational phase in the response against the pandemic, Dr Esso said attention is now paid to helping various sectors slowly return to their normal activities as they were before. She went forward to list out measures taken at the airports in anticipation to the complete reopening of borders which she said such measures would equally be applied to other sectors to ensure the regain their normal activities without the risk of a second spike of the disease.

“While reiterating our encouragements to the teams involved in the fight against the pandemic, I urge everyone not to give up, let us continue to persevere in the strict compliance with the barrier measures put in place by the government and the WHO,” she added.