Congolese perception of the COVID-19 pandemic: the case of the city of Uvira
Introduction: The Covid-19 pandemic, a disease that started in the city of Wuhan, China, is wreaking havoc around the world. Like all nations, Democratic Republic of the Congo is trying, despite limited resources, to reduce the spread of this scourge somewhat by means of prevention measures, the only weapon available to humanity. The objective of this study is to share the different reactions of the Congolese population to this Covid-19 pandemic. Methodology: This is a qualitative and observational survey of 898 volunteer people living in the city of Uvira (Province of South Kivu, in Democratic Republic of Congo) and conducted during a week-long period from March 30 as of April 5, 2020. The analysis of the data was done using SPSS statistics 20 software. Results: the 15 to 30 age group was the most represented (59.1%). All of our respondents claimed to have heard of the Covid-19 (100.0%), and most of it through the media (99.3%). The majority believe that the black race is less affected than the white race (48.7%). Regarding containment measures, 77.5% of our respondents believe that these cannot be observed in the city of Uvira. The proportion of respondents believing that containment measures will not be respected was statistically high in the age group 15 years - 30 years (43.9%; p = 0.039), among respondents with a secondary education level (42.0%; p = 0.000) and among those with an average socioeconomic level (43.0%; p = 0.017). Conclusion: This study, the first in the region, has just supported the image that the Congolese population in general, and that of the city of Uvira in particular, in relation to the Covid-19.