At least eleven African countries have now reported of the deadly coronavirus with total number of confirmed cases so far surpassing 100.
But relatively that is still a very small number compared to other countries outside the continent.
Since the outbreak of the coronavirus, many international experts have wondered why Africa isn’t recording high numbers.
Seeking answers has been challenging but some of these experts are beginning to speculate that Africa may be under reporting cases or simply not testing people enough.
Some of these experts assume that simply by testing more people Africa’s number of infections could rise.
Again the theories of some of these experts is also intended to defuse claims that Africans are immune to the virus, something that hasn’t been proven scientifically.
But Africa is rejecting any speculations or claims that it is under-reporting cases and conducting tests poorly.
Status update – number of #COVID19/#coronavirus cases in @WHO #Africa Region:
??Algeria 20
??Senegal 4
??Togo 1
??Cameroon 2
??Nigeria 2
??South Africa 7
??Burkina Faso 2
??DRC 1Other cases on the African continent:
??Egypt: 59
??Tunisia: 5
??Morocco: 2 pic.twitter.com/jIgCPJhLLx— WHO African Region (@WHOAFRO) March 11, 2020
Defence for low rate of spread
Dr Amadou Sall, director of the Pasteur Institute in Dakar for instance is quoted by the BBC as saying that “I’m happy and proud [about] what Africa has done this time because usually we spend time running after epidemics when it is there but in this time we have been prepared.”
He said the impact of the Ebola outbreak years ago and even last year has placed the continent on a solid ground to respond to the Coronavirus.
Dr Sall says African health officials have also learned a lot from the West African Ebola crisis in 2014, and have created critical communications and collaborative networks aimed at containing the virus.
Sall’s institute has already trained 35 laboratories around the continent to do Covid-19 testing.
“We put together a whole group of people that are going to be together working on referral of samples and confirmation, we’re going to do the [genetic] sequencing,” he said.
He adds that “and also very important we’re going to do research. Research is absolutely critical because three months ago nobody knew about this virus so understanding how it evolves in an African context is… absolutely important.”
Death rates from the coronavirus is still low in Africa with just two deaths recorded as at March 10, 2020.
At least 109,578 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus, officially known as COVID-19, have been reported worldwide.
5 steps to reduce risk of #COVID19/#coronavirus:
1⃣Wash hands frequently
2⃣Cover mouth with flexed elbow/tissue when coughing
3⃣Maintain social distancing from sick
4⃣Avoid touching eyes, nose & mouth
5⃣Seek medical care earlyℹhttps://t.co/sXxnI4O2ri pic.twitter.com/qXNm8WJxd0
— WHO African Region (@WHOAFRO) March 11, 2020
[Video]: The South Africans composing songs about Coronavirus
Source: Africafeeds.com
