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| - Nobel Peace laureate Denis Mukwege said Saturday that people over 60 should be confined in the Democratic Republic of Congo and everyone should wear masks to stem the spread of the coronavirus. Mukwege, a Congolese gynaecologist hailed for his work with rape victims, is head of a task force to fight COVID-19 in the DRC's South Kivu province. The virus has killed 25 people in the country to date. Mukwege told media in provincial capital Bukavu he recommended "a partial confinement of people aged over 60, who are often most at risk. "This would allow us to protect the weakest, who are the most exposed to fatal complications." In addition, the doctor said he backed "mandatory masks for everyone" as a way of "breaking the transmission chain of COVID-19." Asked about vaccines against the novel coronavirus, he was more cautious, saying: "If you ask me, I would say we should begin by vaccinating China, Europe and America," where the virus has killed almost 150,000 people according to official sources. Mukwege said that in Africa, "our luck lies in the age of our population, people under 60 represent 96 percent of the population" and are considered less vulnerable by virus specialists. DR Congo has reported 307 cases of COVID-19, most of which have been detected in the capital Kinshasa. ro-mbb/wai/spm
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