Africa faces “a pivotal moment” in its fight against coronavirus as cases and deaths increase after loose blockades and restrictions, the regional director of the World Health Organization (WHO) warned thursday.
Over the next month, there has been an average increase of seven% in weekly instances of Covid-19 across the continent and an average 8% increase in weekly deaths, according to the African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC of Africa).
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“In fact, we are at a crucial time in the pandemic in Africa. While the continent has experienced a drop in its epidemic curve over the more than 3 months, this decline has stabilized,” Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Director for Africa, told journalists.
Despite initial considerations that the pandemic would devastate the region, the 55 African Union member states have recorded about 1. 6 million cases, representing only 4. 2% of the global total, according to the African CDC.
Its approximately 39,000 deaths make up 3. 6% of the world’s total.
Many countries have imposed punitive and limited blockades for long periods of time, which would be difficult to repair in reaction to a resurgence, said John Nkengasong, director of CDC Africa.
“We are seeing what is happening in Europe as they facilitate its blockade, how the number of new instances has increased and several countries are contemplating a moment of blockade. We can’t,” Nkengasong said.
“We allow this virus to erode the progress we have made in the past two months since the start of the pandemic. “
South Africa accounts for almost part of the continent’s cases.
The countries of North Africa, Morocco, Tunisia and Libya have also reported increases in recent weeks.
Compared to the onset of the pandemic, African countries “are now in a much better position to deal with the demanding new situations that COVID-19 is throwing at us,” Moeti said, which led to a sharp increase in comforts and fans.
But she was involved in how construction in cases in Europe can be just the continent.
“We know the very close link between Africa and Europe and we also know that imports to all African countries have occurred from Europe,” he said.
“We are involved in this construction in Europe at the same time as we open up to business travelers, tourists who come to Africa. “
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