Coronavirus: African countries
prepare for increasing numbers
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| A health worker prays disinfectant at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi |
African countries gear up to respond to new cases of
coronavirus which began to appear on the continent in February.
By Fr. Benedict Mayaki, SJ
Governments around the world continue to adopt measures to
deal with the new coronavirus pandemic. However, international attention has
mostly been focused on the worst-hit countries, like China and Italy.
The attitude adopted regarding Africa was a perceived
exclusion of the continent from the coronavirus. Now Egypt, Morocco, Burkina
Faso, Senegal and South Africa dominate the list of affected African countries.
Thirty-six of the continent’s 54 countries now have
confirmed cases. A total of roughly 800 people are infected by the Covid-19
virus. Chad and Niger confirmed their first cases only last week.
Health care provision concerns
Africa has an approximate population of 1.2 billion people.
A sizeable percentage of that population lives below the poverty line and has
poor access to healthcare.
Many sub-Saharan African countries do not have well-equipped
isolation wards. Nor do they have properly qualified health-care workers to
deal with Covid-19 patients.
Presently, forty-three countries have testing capabilities.
That’s up from only two when the outbreak began. Many do not have enough
ventilators to respond to the needs of the coronavirus patients.
Although Africa has relatively few coronavirus cases, it is
necessary to contain its spread before fragile healthcare systems are
overwhelmed.
What is being done?
With the number of infected people rising, many African
countries are taking their cue from China and other countries. Precautionary
measures now being implemented are aggressive.
Countries like Angola, Cameroon and Senegal have shut their
sea, land and air borders. Rwanda has also suspended all international
commercial flights for a month. Almost all the other countries have set in
place strict screening protocols at points of entry. Visitors from high-risk
countries are placed under compulsory quarantine.
There are also massive sensitization campaigns, bans on
public gatherings, school closures and restriction of movement in public
places.
The Church’s response
Church leaders recognize that churches are a potential place
for the spread of coronavirus. Several Bishops’ Conferences across the
continent have issued letters to the faithful asking for cooperation with the
government as regards healthcare safety measures.
Many dioceses have suspended the public celebration of Mass,
discouraged the use of holy water fonts and have postponed celebrations of
weddings and social celebrations. The reception of Holy Communion is also
restricted to the hands and the sign of peace is either suspended or done in a
way that carries minimal infection risks.
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