July 19: Africa’s caseload passes 700,000; deaths near 15,000

Africa’s case load has crossed the 700,000 mark as of today. Half of the cases are recorded in South Africa where there are over 350,000 confirmed cases.

As of last friday (July 17), the WHO Africa region reported that there had been a 27% increase in the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in region.

10 countries account for 88% (440,672) of all reported #COVID19 cases in the African Region: South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Algeria, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, Senegal, Ethiopia & DRC, a WHO Africa situation report noted.

Sub-Saharan Africa hosts more than 26% of the world’s refugees & around 19 M internally displaced people. It is in the interest of peace, international security & equity that all countries & partners do more to help these vulnerable populations during the COVID-19 crisis.

Major African stats: July 19 at 9:00 GMT:

Confirmed cases = 702,663

Active cases = 320,055

Recoveries = 367,652

Number of deaths = 14,956

The five most impacted countries are as follows:

South Africa = 350,879

Egypt = 87,172

Nigeria = 36,107

Ghana = 27,060

Algeria = 22,549

July 8: Africa’s confirmed COVID-19 cases now above a half-million

Africa now has more than a half-million confirmed coronavirus cases. The continent-wide total is over 508,000, according to figures released Wednesday by the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and corroborated by the John Hopkins University tallies.

It comes after South Africa – by a mile Africa’s most impacted nation – recorded another day of more than 10,000 confirmed cases as a new global hot spot.

The true number of cases among Africa’s 1.3 billion people is unknown as its 54 countries continue to face a serious shortage of testing materials for the virus. “A tremendous problem, a real crisis of access,” the World Health Organization’s Africa chief, Matshidiso Moeti, said last week.

The continent reached the 400,000 mark on July 1 when John Hopkins tallies put the caseload at 405,171. It means that over 100,000 cases were recorded within the space of one week to reach the half a million milestone.

Confirmed cases = 508,114

Active cases = 251,103

Recoveries = 245,033

Number of deaths = 11,978

John Hopkins University tallies as of July 8 at 10:00 GMT

The five most impacted countries are as follows:

South Africa = 215,855

Egypt = 77,279

Nigeria = 29,789

Ghana = 21,968

Algeria = 16,879

So far most testing has been concentrated in capital cities, but infections in many cases have spread beyond them.

Africa’s health systems are the most poorly funded and thinly staffed in the world, and already more than 2,000 health workers have been infected by the virus, according to the WHO.

This week alone, some anxious health workers in Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Congo and Sierra Leone have gone on strike or demonstrated for adequate protective gear or better pay. The African continent has just 2.2 health workers — and 0.3 doctors — per 1,000 people, according to the WHO.

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