Coronavirus test centre destroyed in Ivory Coast as residents complain it's too close to their homes

Police arrest four people in connection with protests

Residents protest after ransacking a half-built makeshift hospital for coronavirus in Ivory coast (Reuters)

A makeshift coronavirus testing centre in Ivory Coast has been partially pulled down and ransacked by protesters amid fears it was too close to people’s homes.

More than 100 residents in Yopougon, an area in Abidjan, the country’s commercial capital, gathered on Sunday to protest against its construction.

Footage on social media shows a crowd of people taking down parts of the existing structure and setting light to tyres nearby.

On Monday, Ivory Coast police clashed with protesters at the site and used tear gas to disperse them.

Residents reportedly do not want the centre near their homes because they fear the facility will cause the virus to spread through the community.

Joel Blehi, one of those who objects to the building, said: "They want to kill us. We don't want this centre here.”

However, police said patients with Covid-19 would not be treated at the site.

Charlemagne Bleu, a police spokesman, said: "There's been a lack of communication. It's more like a testing centre for residents.”

He added that no one was injured in the clashes and that four arrests had been made.

The country’s health ministry said that it is one of several facilities under construction in Abidjan for voluntary testing purposes.

Ivory Coast authorities have imposed a night-time curfew and have closed schools, places of worship and most shops to contain the coronavirus outbreak.

The country has so far recorded 323 Covid-19 cases and three deaths from the virus.

Additional reporting from Reuters