Experts, at the global level, agree that full and well-implemented lockdown allows for a significant reduction in new contamination.

"We encourage very much the use of data so that when a government decides not to lock down a city, they need to be aware that there will be consequences in terms of the spread of the virus," World Health Organization's (WHO) Regional Director for Africa Dr. Matshidiso Moeti said at a media briefing last week.

There are over 42,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases on the African continent - with more than 1,700 associated deaths, according to WHO. Can Africa afford to put everyone in confinement, like in the Americas, Asia, or Europe? A brief focus on economic, social, and human cost suggest opportunities and challenges co-exists.

The situation on the continent is very much different. African states run with several problems at the start-up: African workers are mostly employed by the informal sector, informal economy percent of GDP is significant (DRC 40%, Nigeria 37%) and the social and urban structures of our countries make it difficult to implement a total lockdown.

Housing and family dynamic - except for residential areas, urban housing is anarchic. The constructions are made according to the sandstones and the wishes of those who build. In many African cities,  especially those in West Africa, housing is built in the form of “concessions”, a kind of horizontal housing or several families live together, sharing a common court. This makes it difficult to control the effectiveness of containment measures. And what about polygamous households whose husbands would be confined in the event of confinement in the obligation to choose where to settle?

Local Economy - Confinement in Africa is complicated by the very structure of our countries’ economies. How can you ask an economic operator, or an employee of the informal sector, who lives on daily income, to stop his activity altogether?

“While a nationwide lockdown is probably the most effective means to contain the spread of coronavirus that has killed 131 people in the country, it cannot be sustained indefinitely,” according to South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa.

The informal sector is built on a working model that is more of a daily survival than anything else. Traders, as well as those employed by them, live on daily incomes. A week without activity leads to the desolation that settles in homes. On the other hand, how can we ensure that people respect the watchwords of confinement when we know that African cities are anything but structured?

This may be the right time to utilize our social traditional structures and their strengths.

Many African countries have good experience in primary education based on community systems. Models of community schools could provide innovative solutions here, mixing technologies and spatial management.  African societies in many cases and ways are still pretty much organized around communities and tribes. Tribal and community leaders are well respected and listened to. Governments may also bring them on board to discuss means and ways to engage citizens on the best approaches to operate confinement during the COVID19 period.

This May month, several African countries have lifted the partial lockdown imposed to stem the spread of coronavirus, but the ban on gatherings is still in place. While educational facilities remain closed in most African countries, businesses have been allowed to operate conditionally. These decisions are made taking into account the balance between enabling economies and stopping the spread of a pandemic that can have profound consequences on the continent.