Senegal to celebrate Tabaski amid dramatic COVID-19 surge

Health officials warn that COVID-19 cases are surging in Senegal as millions in the West African nation prepare for the Tabaski holiday

BARGNY, Senegal -- Adama Ndiaye got up before dawn to travel about 25 miles (40 kilometers), hoping that she would be able to get a sheep for the celebration next week of the Muslim holiday of sacrifice, Eid al-Adha. As a result of the pandemic, selling ice cream no longer provides enough money for the 63-year-old to support her four children still at home, especially not to be able to buy a sheep that costs about $140 to celebrate Tabaski, as the festivity is called in Senegal. As soon as she heard that an Islamic charity would be donating sheep to the poor, Ndiaye registered to get one. “I have prayed a lot and I was not expecting to have a sheep." she said. “God knows how I appreciate this.”