Two African countries, Lesotho and Comoros are among 16 countries globally yet to record a case of coronavirus.
The Pandemic that started in December 2019 has now infected over 2 million people across 185 countries with over 100,000 deaths.
In Africa 52 countries have reported of cases that have now hit over 19,895 as at April 18, 2020.
The continent has also recorded 1016 deaths and 4,642 recoveries, according to experts.
#COVID2019 update (9 am EAT 18 April 2020). 52 @_AfricanUnion Member States reporting 19895 cases, 1016 deaths, and 4642 recoveries pic.twitter.com/0c5MdJJPvO
— Africa CDC (@AfricaCDC) April 18, 2020
Here are the 16 countries yet to record a case of coronavirus:
- Comoros
- Kiribati
- Lesotho
- Marshall Islands
- Micronesia
- Nauru
- North Korea
- Palau
- Samoa
- Sao Tome and Principe
- Solomon Islands
- Tajikistan
- Tonga
- Turkmenistan
- Tuvalu
- Vanuatu
Globally the Johns Hopkins University shows on its website that among the countries with infections, war-torn country of Yemen has the lowest number of cases – only one.
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More deaths expected in Africa?
Meanwhile the United Nations has warned that the current coronavirus pandemic is likely to kill at least 300,000 people in Africa.
The global body said the pandemic could also push nearly 30 million people into poverty over the next 3 to 6 months.
The UN Economic Commission for Africa has now called for a $100bn safety net for the continent as well as a halt to external debt payments.
In a statement the UN body said “The pandemic continues to impact on the Continent’s struggling economies whose growth is expected to slow down from 3.2 percent to 1.8 percent in a best-case scenario, pushing close to 27 million people into extreme poverty.”
In a report launched on Friday titled, COVID-19: Protecting African Lives and Economies, the UN body said “Africa’s fragile health systems could see additional costs being imposed on them because of the growing crisis that has to-date, resulted in over 16,000 infected Africans and claimed over 800 lives at the time of the report’s launch.”
“To protect and build towards the Continent’s shared prosperity, $100 billion is needed to urgently and immediately provide fiscal space to all countries to help address the immediate safety net needs of the populations,” reiterates Vera Songwe, UN Under Secretary-General and Executive Secretary, Economic Commission for Africa.
Source: Africafeeds.com
