Coronavirus cases continue to slow down in Africa: WHO

By Rodrigue Forku

YAOUNDE, Cameroon (AA) - Coronavirus cases in Africa has continued to slow down, as seen in the past two weeks, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday.

In its situation report, the WHO Regional Office for Africa said there has been a 9% increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in the African Region over the past week (Aug. 5-11), compared to a 13% increase recorded during the previous reporting period (July 29-Aug. 5).

There was an 18% increase in July 22-28.

The UN health agency said 10 countries account for 89% of all reported COVID-19 cases in the African Region: South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Algeria, Kenya, Ethiopia, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Madagascar, and Senegal.

South Africa accounts for more than half of the cases with over 568,900 confirmed infections, including 11,010 deaths and more than 432,000 recoveries.

There are over one million confirmed COVID-19 cases on the African continent, with more than 770,000 recoveries and more than 24,000 deaths, according to the WHO.

“While these indicators are encouraging, the figures should be cautiously interpreted as they may be affected by many factors, including the current testing capacity and strategy,” the statement said.

Meanwhile, Gambia continues to observe an increase in the daily number of cases.

“Similar to the previous three reporting periods, Gambia registered the highest percentage increase of 85% (799 to 1,477 cases) August 5 to 11,” the WHO said.

It said Mauritius, Seychelles, and Tanzania did not officially submit reports indicating any confirmed case. Fifteen new health worker infections were recorded from four countries: Namibia, Burundi, Malawi, and Sierra Leone.