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Covid-19: WHO predicts that Africa is going to exceed one million cases "in the coming days"

The World Health Organization (WHO) warned this Thursday that the number of covid-19 cases in Africa will exceed one million "in the coming days", noting that it has increased by "50 per cent in the last 14 days".

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"Covid-19 infections in Africa will exceed one million in the coming days, with the pandemic on the rise in several countries," reads a statement issued by the WHO.

In the document, the organisation notes that the number of cases on the continent has "almost doubled" in just over three weeks, approaching 900,000, also accounting for almost 20,000 deaths.

According to the WHO count, Africa has 889,457 cases of covid-19, including 18,806 deaths.

"Overall, the pandemic is accelerating, with the number of cases increasing by 50 percent during the last 14 days compared to the previous fortnight," the note notes, explaining that five countries - Algeria, Egypt, Ghana, Nigeria and South Africa - account for about 75 percent of the accumulated number of cases.

As for the number of deaths, the WHO registered a total of 4376 deaths in the last fortnight, an increase of 22 per cent compared to the previous two weeks.

The United Nations agency detailed that seven countries in sub-Saharan Africa that have imposed more severe containment measures and have meanwhile lifted them "have experienced a 20 per cent increase in the number of cases during the last two weeks".

The note also noted that countries such as the Republic of Congo and Morocco needed to re-apply restrictive measures because of the increase in the number of cases.

"As the million cases in Africa approach, the continent is at a crucial moment," said WHO Regional Director for Africa Matshidiso Moeti, who added that the new coronavirus responsible for covid-19 "has emerged from the largest cities and has spread to the far interior.

In this sense, Moeti believes it is essential that countries decentralize their response mechanisms to the pandemic and that it is still possible to stop the virus.

"We can still prevent covid-19 from reaching its full potential, but action must be taken now," she said.

As for infection by health workers, the WHO said that 41 African countries have reported nearly 14,000 cases of infection.

To slow the spread of the coronavirus, the WHO considers it necessary "to expand the scale and quantity of public health measures such as testing, contact identification, isolation and patient care", as well as forms of prevention such as hand washing, compliance with safety distances and the correct use of masks.

"The lifting of restriction measures that have slowed down the spread of covid-19 should be evidence-based, phased and selected," the note adds.

In the communiqué, the WHO also warned of the low percentage of tests performed.

"The number of tests carried out per 10,000 inhabitants in mid-July was below 100 in 43 of the 54 countries surveyed," the note states, reading that 7.7 million tests have been carried out on the continent since February to detect the new coronavirus.

The covid-19 pandemic has already caused more than 667,000 deaths and infected more than 17 million people in 196 countries and territories, according to an assessment by the French agency AFP.

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