‘As if Covid never happened’: No restrictions and few vaccines, says Kiwi living in Senegal – Stuff.co.nz

When New Zealand went into Covid-19 lockdown in March 2020, on the other side of the world a West African nation of 17 million people did the same.

Today, the public health response in Senegal couldn't be further from the one in New Zealand, with one expat Kiwi saying its as though the virus never existed.

Former Cantabrian Robin McCone, 52, a now retired partner in a major global accounting network, is currently living in Dakar, the capital of Senegal, and will continue to do so for at least the next five years.

Judging by the public health response in Senegal, it almost seemed like the Covid-19 pandemic had come and gone, he said.

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No-one is wearing a face mask. It is as if Covid never happened.

Senegal has had more than 74,000 Covid cases and 1800 deaths. About only 5.75 per cent of the countrys population has been fully vaccinated.

McCone visited his family in Canterbury for Christmas in 2019, and had just returned to Ghana for work when the pandemic hit. The response there was strict, even more so than New Zealand, and well-handled, he said.

However, it was almost impossible to get a vaccine in West Africa now if you were not a frontline worker, he said.

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McCone says his dog, Dorothy, was on her way to ending up on a menu before he rescued her.

According to McCone, people were not wearing masks at all, shops were running as they used to, and lockdowns and restrictions were a thing of the past.

McCone is double vaccinated, but it took calling upon the EU ministry of foreign affairs to get it done.

I had to move hell and home to get that vaccine.

He said the slow vaccination roll-out meant Covid-19 variants were circulating through communities, and international travellers were getting infected and returning home with the virus.

But in his new home city, Dakar, Covid-19 is exhibiting more as a seasonal flu, and he puts that down to the fitness, health and average age in Senegal.

Life expectancy in Senegal is 68.9 and the average age and the median 18.5. Compared with New Zealand's 81.7 and 37.4 respectively.

McCone said Covid-19 seemed to have a lesser impact on mortality rates in Dakar, but it was still a massive mistake for developed countries not to help provide vaccines to Senegal.

But despite the lack of Covid management, McCones intrepid nature attracted him to Senegal and its people.

Dakar is super safe and the Senegalese are some of the politest, friendliest folk weve met in West Africa.

Kiwis would love it here. You cant walk down any road without people saying Bonjour, a va?. Ive been looked at as a freak in many countries for being that friendly. Not here.

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McCone left New Zealand in 1996, and has lived and worked all over the world, including New York City, Georgia, Switzerland, Hungary, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Central Asia.

He moved from Ghana to Senegal just a couple of weeks ago for an early retirement and to support his wifes career.

So far, retirement had largely consisted of surfing at a nearby beach, taking his longboard on trips down non-existent roads, and adopting stray animals as pets.

McCone said he saved his dog, Dorothy, from ending up on someones plate. Dorothy was going to be in the chop bar, she was on the menu. I saved her from being eaten.

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Robin McCone's wife and dog enjoy life in Senegal.

McCone said he loved the lifestyle Dakar provides, and ranked it among one of his favourite places in the world alongside Georgia in Europe, and Canterbury in Aotearoa.

He believed there was a lot of opportunity for expat Kiwis in Africa.

But watch out for Jollof a West African rice dish that McCone deemed to be awful, describing the taste as being like rice and coffee and shrimp.

The West Africans cant get enough of it. Nigerians and Ghanaians will fight who [invented] it, but it came from Senegal.

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'As if Covid never happened': No restrictions and few vaccines, says Kiwi living in Senegal - Stuff.co.nz