Asked by Lusa to comment on the acceleration of the pandemic in Africa, Javier Aramburu said that African countries do not have a greater number of cases and deaths compared to some Latin American countries, but warned that the situation is "serious.
"There are Latin American countries that have more cases and deaths than African countries, which does not indicate that the situation is not serious in Africa," he said.
He stressed that "cases are increasing and there are countries that have a large number of infections, such as Guinea-Bissau, with more than 1600 cases, soon followed by Cape Verde, which currently has an approximate number of 1250 cases".
"On the other hand, we have the case of Mozambique, already with 900 cases, São Tomé and Príncipe also has an important number of cases, it is around 600 cases, and Angola, which has still less than 500 cases, we are talking until yesterday [Wednesday] of 291 cases," he recalled.
Javier Aramburu stressed that Angola is the country with the fewest cases, but pointed out that the country "is not being provided with a necessary number of tests," although the government is asking "in every possible way.
"It may be that the actual number is greater", he stressed.
Asked about possible explanations for a higher number of deaths in Angola compared to countries like Cape Verde and Sao Tome and Principe that have more diagnosed infections, Javier Aramburu stressed that if they are small islands with relatively small populations, control becomes easier.
Regarding Cape Verde, he pointed out that the country has much more support from Europe, for example.
Angola "has a more difficult situation, as the availability of tests for the country is insufficient. It is a problem that is happening not only in Africa, but all over the world," he said.
The covid-19 pandemic has already caused more than 516,000 deaths and infected more than 10.71 million people in 196 countries and territories, according to a report by the French agency AFP.
In Africa, there are 10,390 confirmed deaths in more than 420,000 infected in 54 countries, according to the latest pandemic statistics on that continent.
