fbpx

Coronavirus Confirmed In 52 African Countries, Reported Cases Surpass 11,000

Coronavirus Confirmed In 52 African Countries, Reported Cases Surpass 11,000

Chloroquine coronavirus
Coronavirus cases have been confirmed in 52 African countries with reported cases surpassing 11,000 and only Lesotho and Comoros not yet affected. Women sell face masks and gloves, to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus, to passengers at a public minibus station in Lagos, Nigeria Friday, March 27, 2020. Image: AP Photo/Sunday Alamba

Sao Tome and Principe is the 52nd African country to confirm a coronavirus case, leaving only two African countries — Lesotho and Comoros — without any reported cases of the virus.

The number of coronavirus cases in Africa has passed 11,000, with 574 people dead from the virus, according to AfricaNews. Around 1,400 Africans have made a full recovery.

The World Health Organization‘s Africa program manager Michel Yao said that recent increases in the number of infected suggest that the peak of cases in some African countries “could arrive in the coming weeks“.

While the number of cases in Africa remains relatively low compared to other parts of the world, the experience of the U.S., Asia and Europe is enough to worry the World Health Organization, particularly where poorer African countries with weaker health systems are concerned.

On April 6, the islands of Sao Tome and Principe, Africa’s second-smallest country located off the northwest coast of Gabon, identified their first four COVID-19 cases, CNBCAfrica reported.

South Africa has the highest number of confirmed cases with 1.934 people infected and 18 deaths. The country’s 21-day nationwide lockdown to prevent the spread of the virus has been extended a further two weeks.

Egypt, Algeria, and Morocco have more than 1,100 cases each. Algeria is the country with the most deaths recorded, 232.

In Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country with a population of 204 million, 276 cases have been confirmed.

Other African countries with more than 300 cases of coronavirus include Ghana (313), Mauritius (314), Niger (410), Burkina Faso (443), Ivory Coast (444), Tunisia (643) and Cameroon (730).

Lesotho, a landlocked country in South Africa, declared a national emergency on March 19 when cases were increasing in neighboring South Africa.

Schools were closed and all arrivals into the country have been quarantined for 14 days, MSN reports.

Listen to GHOGH with Jamarlin Martin | Episode 70: Jamarlin Martin

Jamarlin goes solo to discuss the COVID-19 crisis. He talks about the failed leadership of Trump, Andrew Cuomo, CDC Director Robert Redfield, Surgeon General Jerome Adams, and New York Mayor de Blasio.

Comoros, an island in the Indian Ocean off the eastern coast of Africa, is among a handful of countries left in the world without any reported COVID-19 cases, most of which are remote islands that receive few visitors.

Globally, almost 1.6 million people are infected with COVID-19 in 209 countries and the death toll has surpassed 95,000.