Confirmed COVID-19(coronavirus) cases in Africa is 13,813 with 2,425 Recoveries and 749 deaths as 12th April 2020(16:25 GMT)
The 2019-20 coronavirus pandemic was confirmed to have spread to Africa on 14 February 2020.
The first confirmed case on the continent was in Egypt, and the first confirmed case in sub-Saharan Africa was in Nigeria.
As of 12th April 2020, Egypt cases jumped to 1,939 with Deaths 135 and Nigeria also has recorded 318 cases with 10 deaths.
The only region with virus-free countries being southern Africa where Comoros and Lesotho have yet to confirm cases As of 11th April 2020.
Meanwhile, South Africa is leading with highest cases of 2, 173 as of 12 April 2020 and Recovered cases is 410 (as of 10 April 2020) while Deaths are 25 (as of 12 April 2020).
After the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared COVID-19 a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on 30 January 2020, an emergency operation center was immediately activated.
By 7 February the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) had conducted 42 tests of people in South Africa, all results negative.
Experts have worried about COVID-19 spreading to Africa, because many of the healthcare systems on the continent are inadequate, having problems such as lack of equipment, lack of funding, insufficient training of healthcare workers, and inefficient data transmission. It was feared that the pandemic could be difficult to keep under control in Africa, and could cause huge economic problems if it spread widely.
Source: Mybrytfmonline/Kofi Atakora
