Africa seeing more cases despite curbs

WHO urges governments to maintain constant vigilance to control outbreak

Coronavirus cases are growing rapidly across Africa, even as governments and health authorities strive to limit the spread.

The death toll from the pandemic was 6,769 across the continent as of Tuesday, while infections reached 251,866, data from the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention showed.

According to the World Health Organization, while it took nearly 100 days to reach 100,000 cases, the jump to 200,000 cases occurred in less than 20 days.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that worldwide it took more than two months for the first 100,000 cases to be reported, but for the past two weeks, over 100,000 new cases have been reported almost every day.

Almost 75 percent of recent cases come from 10 countries, mostly in the Americas and South Asia, but increasing numbers of cases are being seen in Africa, Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Middle East, according to the WHO.

The WHO on Thursday urged African countries to observe constant vigilance.

"For now, Africa still accounts for only a small fraction of cases worldwide", said Matshidiso Moeti, WHO regional director for Africa. "But the pace of the spread is quickening. Swift and early action by African countries has helped to keep numbers low, but constant vigilance is needed to stop the virus from overwhelming health facilities."

The rising caseload is being driven by 10 countries, which account for nearly 80 percent of all cases. More than 70 percent of deaths were in five nations as of Tuesday: Algeria with 777; Egypt, 1,672; Nigeria, 424; South Africa, 1,568; and Sudan, 468.

Health workers have also been significantly affected by the pandemic, with 4,962 of them infected in 36 African countries since the beginning of the outbreak, according to the WHO Africa office. South Africa has been the most affected, with 2,084 infected health workers.

To curb spread of the virus, 43 countries have closed their borders, while 35 have extended night-time curfews. Several countries have also banned public gatherings, closed schools and banned international flights.

On Sunday, Kenya announced that the country is inching toward its peak on infections. As of Tuesday morning, Kenya had recorded 3,727 infections and 104 deaths.

Rashid Aman, Kenya's chief administrative secretary for health, said out of 47 counties, 38 have reported coronavirus cases, and it's just a matter of time before all the counties are affected.

"This is a worrying trend that requires serious interventions at all levels, and, as a ministry, we have worked, and will continue to work, very closely with county governments to upscale the level of preparedness at the county level," he said.

Francis Kuria, the head of public health, called on the public to wear face masks when in public places in line with WHO guidelines.

"I want to urge Kenyans to see the rising numbers, especially now that Africa is nearing its peak, and use face masks which is the easiest measure to contain the spread of the virus," he said.

Easing of lockdowns

Meanwhile, despite the spike in cases, several African countries have started relaxing lockdowns.

South Africa started reopening schools on June 1. Angie Motshekga, the basic education minister, assured South Africans that safety measures have been put in place to curb the spread of virus in schools.

On Sunday, Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa said that the country's lockdown remains at level two.

"Let us begin to further open up, remembering that we all have a role to play. We recognize that the current spike in the number of positive cases requires that we take a more cautious approach in relaxing the lockdown restrictions," Mnangagwa said.

Chen Weihua in Brussels contributed to this story.