On March 27, 2020 Africa had just confirmed only 3,243 cases of coronavirus with 83 deaths and 254 recoveries.
At the time only 46 countries had reported of coronavirus infections and South Africa had the highest count at 927.
Algeria and Egypt from North Africa were the only two countries to have recorded over 300 cases at the time.
Just within a month though the picture has completely changed with cases surging across Africa with current case count hitting over 31,933.
Over 28,690 extra cases have been recorded since March 27, 2020 representing over 884 percent rise in a month across Africa.
52 countries are now reporting of cases and the death toll has also increased from 83 as at March 27 to 1,423 as at April 27.
COVID-19 : UPDATE IN AFRICA, 27 MARCH 2020 – 9:00 am EAT
Countries (46) reporting a total #COVID19 3,243 cases, 83 deaths, 254 recoveries by region.#COVID19 #FactsNotFear #AfricaPrepares #AfricaRespond pic.twitter.com/05hruMG3Hx— Africa CDC (@AfricaCDC) March 27, 2020
The number of recoveries has also increased from 254 as at March 27 to 9,566 as at April 27.
The percentage rise in deaths (1,614 percent) and recoveries (3,666 percent) has also been significant.
#COVID19 UPDATE IN AFRICA (9 AM EAT 27 April 2020).
52 @_AfricanUnion Member States reporting 31.933 cases, 1.423 deaths, and 9,566 recoveries.
More details on @AfricaCDC dashboard via https://t.co/teDFU1XFLZ#AfricaResponds #FactsNotFear pic.twitter.com/112ts660ea— Africa CDC (@AfricaCDC) April 27, 2020
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Fear for the worst
Experts fear if the trend of surge in cases continues Africa could record more cases, deaths and hopefully recoveries in the next one month.
With many countries now conducting more tests across their populations, the number of infections are likely to get higher.
The World Health Organization this month said the case of coronavirus in Africa could jump from current thousands to 10 million between three and six months.
“We fear that the virus will continue to spread in some of the African countries. The numbers is increasing every day,” Machidiso Moiti, WHO’s regional director for Africa said on April 17.
And with weaker health systems there are fears should cases get higher and health centres become overwhelmed, the impact of the pandemic could be deadly.
Regional Director @MoetiTshidi highlights that Africa faces other health challenges in addition to #COVID19, which could result in an even greater impact on people’s lives & well-being. pic.twitter.com/v8vFevmXCI
— WHO African Region (@WHOAFRO) April 17, 2020
The United Nations has also warned that the current coronavirus pandemic is likely to kill at least 300,000 people in Africa.
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.
The UN says Covid-19 likely to kill over 300k people in Africa
Source: Africafeeds.com
