WHO: Covid-19 accelerating in
Africa
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| Cape Town lockdown amidst storm (ANSA) |
The World Health Organization (WHO) says that cases of the
coronavirus are spreading from capital cities to rural areas in Africa, and
that more testing kits are needed.
By Vatican News
WHO's Africa regional director, Matshidiso Moeti said that
ten countries are driving Africa's epidemic, but there was no indication that
severe cases and deaths were being missed.
The continent has over 200,000 cases and 5,000 deaths.
South Africa, is the hardest-hit African nation, accounting
for a quarter of all cases.
In South Africa, high numbers of daily cases and deaths are
being reported in two provinces, the Western Cape and Eastern Cape, Moeti said.
"Even though these cases in Africa account for less
than 3 percent of the global total, it's clear that the pandemic is
accelerating," she told a news briefing.
The WHO regional director noted that many African countries
had already put in place "point of entry" screening measures against
Ebola fever. These two factors may have so far limited the spread of COVID-19,
she said.
Dr Moeti highlighted, a major challenge on the continent
remains the availability of test kits. She also said that lockdowns and market
closures intended to contain the coronavirus outbreak were likely to have taken
a heavy toll on marginalized communities and low-income families.
"Until such time as we have access to an effective
vaccine, I'm afraid we'll probably have to live with a steady increase in the
region, with some hotspots having to be managed in a number of countries, as is
happening now in South Africa, Algeria, Cameroon for example, which require
very strong public health measures, social distancing measures to take
place."
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