… As WHO warns virus could kill 190,000 people in Africa

By TOM CHIAHEMEN, Abuja –

Despite a range of prevention and containment measures imposed by African countries against the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19), confirmed cases of the pandemic have continued to soar.

Available data on the pandemic indicates that there are now over 42,500 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in 53 countries across the continent, with 2,073 deaths and 18,412 recoveries.

Out of the 42,500 confirmed cases, seven of the African countries alone, account for 33,873 cases, with South Africa topping with 8,232 cases, followed by Egypt with 7,981 and Algeria – 5,128.

The other four are Morocco – 3,548, Nigeria – 3,526, Ghana – 3,091 and, Cameroun – 2,267.

These figures have been recorded amid the prediction by the World Health Organization (WHO), that Coronavirus could kill up to 190,000 people in Africa in the first year if control measures fail to work.

Africa Regional Director of WHO, Matshidiso Moeti, who gave the warning on Thursday, said transmission of the virus in the continent had been slower but could result to a longer outbreak.

“While coronavirus likely won’t spread as exponentially in Africa as elsewhere in the world, it likely will smoulder in transmission hotspots,” Dr Moeti said.

A report by the BBC hinted that against this backdrop, the WHO had proposed a strengthening of the health care systems in the continent.

It quoted Dr. Moeti to have said, “Covid-19 could become a fixture in our lives for the next several years unless a proactive approach is taken by many governments in the region. We need to test, trace, isolate and treat.”

According to the latest data by the John Hopkins University and Africa Center for Disease Control on COVID-19 in Africa, the breakdown remains fluid as countries confirm cases as and when.

The whole of Africa has rising cases with Lesotho the country holding out as of May 1.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), confirmed in a tweet on Thursday that 381 new cases of the coronavirus had been recorded, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 3,526.

According to the NCDC, the 381 new cases recorded in 34 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), was the highest number of cases recorded in a single day in the country.

It also said that Nigeria recorded four deaths, bringing the total number of deaths to 107.

A breakdown of the new cases shows that 183 were in Lagos, 55 are in Kano, 44 in Jigawa, while 19 each came from Zamfara and Bauchi.

Others were: 11 in Katsina, nine in Borno, eight in Kwara, seven in Kaduna, six in Gombe, five in Ogun, four in Sokoto, three in Oyo and in Rivers, two in Niger and one each in Akwa-Ibom, Enugu and Plateau states.

According to NCDC, as at 11.20pm, May 7, 2020 Nigeria has 2818 Active Cases of COVID-19 while 601 people have been discharged.

The centre explained that the continuous increase in number of infections rose due to the increased capacity for testing across the country.

According a report by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the NCDC has conducted 22,492 tests as at May 6, this represents the daily average of 321 tests.

The cumulative per cent positive is 13.9 per cent.

The report added that the NCDC conducted 68 per cent of all tests in the last 20 days and 32 per cent of all tests were conducted in the first 50 days.

While the agency also increased its testing capacity from one Labotary to 18 labs in 70 days, the testing method adopted by the NCDC appears to be the high tech molecular tests, which involves Polymerase Chain Reaction(PCR), to detect virus genetic material, the report said.

Countries in alphabetical order:

Algeria – 5,128

Angola – 36

Benin – 140

Botswana – 23

Burkina Faso – 736

Burundi – 15

Cameroon – 2,267

Cape Verde – 218

Central African Republic – 94

Chad – 253

Comoros – 8

Congo-Brazzaville – 274

DR Congo – 897

Djibouti – 1,133

Egypt – 7,981

Equatorial Guinea – 439

Eritrea – 39

Eswatini – 153

Ethiopia – 191

Gabon – 504

(The) Gambia – 18

Ghana – 3,091

Guinea – 1,927

Guinea-Bissau – 564

Ivory Coast – 1,571

Kenya – 607

Lesotho – 0

Liberia – 189

Libya – 64

Madagascar – 193

Malawi – 43

Mali – 650

Mauritania – 8

Mauritius – 332

Morocco – 5,548

Mozambique – 81

Namibia – 16

Niger – 781

Nigeria- 3,526

Rwanda – 271

Sao Tome and Principe – 187

Senegal – 1,492

Seychelles – 11

Sierra Leone – 231

Somalia – 928

South Africa – 8,232

South Sudan – 74

Sudan – 930

Tanzania – 480

Togo – 135

Tunisia – 1,026

Uganda – 101

Zambia – 153

Zimbabwe – 34

(With additional reports from NAN/africanews.com)