President Adama Barrow on Tuesday banned all public gatherings and closed schools and universities as precautionary measures over the deadly coronavirus pandemic. 

The ban will come into effect on Wednesday March 18.

The new measures come days after neighbouring Senegal with reported cases of the coronavirus took similar actions. The Gambia has no reported case of the coronavirus yet. 

Barrow in addressing the nation said:” realising how vulnerable people are during public gatherings, I hereby declare that all public gatherings are suspended henceforth.

“This suspension includes all international and local conferences, workshops and seminars to be hosted in The Gambia.

The president added: “All schools, including universities, madrassas and daras or majlis will be closed from Wednesday, 18th March 2020 for 21 days.”

According to President Barrow, “all other public gatherings in whatever form, including lumos (open markets) and Gamos are immediately suspended for three weeks.

“All travellers from hotspot countries will be isolated for fourteen (14) days upon arrival in The Gambia.”

Reporting by Adama Makasuba