- Twenty-seven African countries have recorded only 347 coronaviruses as reported by WHO
- Four countries — Egypt, Algeria, South Africa and Morocco — account for more than half of the COVID-19 cases in Africa.
A major outbreak of Coronavirus in the continent which has inadequate health facilities can be disastrous for Africa. So far Africa has recorded relatively few cases compared to the rest of the world. To curb the spread of coronavirus governments across the continent have started imposing strict restrictions. Twenty-seven African countries have recorded only 347 coronaviruses as reported by WHO. Most of the cases are reported from people arriving from Europe and North America. Four countries — Egypt, Algeria, South Africa, and Morocco — account for more than half of the COVID-19 cases in Africa. Death rate so far is Seven – four in Algeria, two in Egypt and one in Morocco.
To prevent the spread, many African countries are closing their airports and land borders to keep out people from infected countries. Hundreds of international flights have been cancelled, schools are closed and travellers from coronavirus-hit countries have been restricted or, banned.
Egypt, with the highest number of coronavirus cases in Africa, announced the suspension of flights from all its airports. South Africa which has the second-highest coronavirus numbers on the continent has declared it as a national disaster. If the virus has a similar pattern of other viruses, peaking in winter, this will be a source of worry for southern Africa, which is heading into its colder months and “flu season”. Even countries such as Djibouti which are yet to record a single case has suspended all international flights to the country. At the same time, Africa’s most populous nation Nigeria is facing a crisis with Doctors in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, declaring an “indefinite strike” over delayed pay and unsafe working conditions. The announcement came just after Nigeria, confirmed the third case of COVID 19. Morocco has closed hammams, cafes, restaurants, cinemas , Mosques etc. after reporting 28 cases and one fatality since the outbreak of the global pandemic.
It was reported that Jack Ma, China’s richest man, has pledged to donate 20,000 testing kits, 100,000 masks and 1,000 medical use protective suits and face shields to each one of the 54 African nations to help the fight against coronavirus. He stated that his Foundations will work with medical institutions in Africa to provide online training materials for coronavirus clinical treatment.
