After the continent seemed to remain more or less “corona-free” for a remarkably long period, more than 200,000 infections have now been reported.
This is evident from figures from the World Health Organization (WHO). The virus also spreads faster and faster. Where it took about 98 days for the number of confirmed infections to exceed 100,000, it only took 19 days to tap the 200,000 infections. Of the more than 200,000 people who have tested positive, more than 5,600 have died.
South Africa
Although the virus is spreading faster and faster across the continent, it seems that it does not strike equally hard in every country. The biggest blows fall in ten of the 54 countries in Africa. These ten countries together accommodate no less than 80% of all infected patients. South Africa has been particularly hard hit; as many as 25 percent of all confirmed contamination cases on the continent are found within the borders of this country. More than 70% of deaths occurred in only five countries, namely Algeria, Egypt, Nigeria, South Africa and Sudan.
African countries have also taken measures – soon after the first infections on the continent were diagnosed – to limit the spread of the virus. Lockdowns were announced and people were instructed to keep their distance from each other, wash their hands regularly and stay at home with colds, and corona patients were isolated and their contacts tracked down. According to the WHO, this has also slowed down the spread of the virus in Africa.
Consideration
Several African countries have now started to relax the measures, which – while effective in the fight against the virus – often pose major problems, particularly for vulnerable and marginalized Africans. In many African countries, large groups of people can be found who live financially by the day. During the day they earn the money with which they put food on the table in the evening. Staying at home for these people is tantamount to starvation. “The mission to stay at home and the closure of markets and businesses has taken a heavy toll,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, of the WHO. “So, especially in Africa when it comes to the response to the virus, there is a tradeoff between saving lives and protecting livelihoods.”
Vigilance
Although several African countries are slowly but surely returning to life as they knew it for Corona, the fight against the virus is far from being won on this continent. It is therefore important to remain vigilant, says Moeti. “For now, Africa is still only responsible for a small fraction of the total number of contamination cases we see worldwide. But the rate at which the virus is spreading is increasing. Early intervention by African countries has resulted in the numbers remaining low, but constant vigilance is needed to prevent COVID-19 from overwhelming healthcare. ”
Remarkable course
The new coronavirus has sailed a remarkable course in Africa from the beginning. While SARS-CoV-2 – after surfacing in China – spread rapidly around the world and the number of infections in Europe, Asia and the US rose rapidly, Africa seemed to be almost out of sync. Infections were only reported sparsely. And the number of infections on the continent – which houses about 1.3 billion people – is still relatively low. It is not entirely clear why. But most researchers think it has to do with limited testing capacity. It would mean that the actual number of infections – and deaths – is much higher.
Impact
Experts have been deeply concerned from the outset about the effect that SARS-CoV-2 would have on Africa. In the overcrowded large cities and slums, it would be difficult to control the virus. Keeping distance is practically impossible. And the presence of running water – to wash hands regularly – is not a given. Weak health care in many African countries and the lack of respiratory equipment also worried researchers. Fortunately, to date, the doomsday scenarios that experts drew cautiously don’t seem to come true. However, the UN warned at the end of May, it is actually too early to get a good idea of the impact COVID-19 has on Africa. “The relatively low number of reported infections is hoping that African countries will be spared the worst (…) But caution is advised, as we are not yet fully aware of this disease and have repeatedly seen the number of new infections increase slowly and then exponentially. The low number of infections that we see to date (in Africa, ed.) Can still be related to limited testing options. The World Health Organization has previously warned that in the first year the pandemic could kill between 83,000 and 190,000 people in 47 African countries (…) and the socio-economic impact of the virus could “riot” for years to come. ” And so the same applies to Africa to the rest of the world: it remains to be seen how the virus will behave in the coming months.
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