The World Health Organization (WHO) reported the deteriorating of the epidemiological situation in Africa. On June 11, the total number of novel infection cases around the world has crossed the 7.4 million mark, TRT World says.
In Africa, the continental contagion is getting higher, says the officials from the WHO. According to the latest updates, the pandemic in Africa is “accelerating” and that while it took 98 days for the continent to reach 100,000 Covid-19 cases, it took just 18 days to get to 200,000.
WHO Africa chief Matshidiso Moeti said that community transmission has begun in more than half of Africa’s 54 countries and “this is a serious sign.”
The novel pathogen largely arrived on the continent via travellers from Europe and is spreading beyond big cities and commercial hubs into more rural areas where many health systems are unequipped to handle cases that require intensive care.
In fact, the Chinese virus has found ‘the new way’ in Africa in comparison with the rest of planet, the experts say.
The epidemic “appears to be taking a different pathway in Africa,” the WHO said. This could be the result of “demography and other possible factors”, early analysis by the UN health body suggests.
In Africa, case numbers “have not grown at the same exponential rate as in other regions” and the continent has not experienced the high mortality seen in some parts of the planet.
Commenting on the worsening of COVID-19 situation, Mr Moeti pointed out South Africa, where the virus has spread from Western Cape province centred on Cape Town into the more rural Eastern Cape. As of Thursday, South Africa has the continent’s highest number of cases with more than 55,000.
