Some 1,000,054 cases of Covid-19 contamination have been recorded across the African continent, according to figures compiled by AFP on Thursday August 6. Among them, there are at least 21,724 deaths, which represents about 5% of cases worldwide.
Only five of Africa's 54 countries account for 75% of cases, according to the continent's Center for Disease Control. The World Health Organization (WHO) also noted Thursday that several African countries had recorded in recent days a drop of about 20% of daily cases.
"We have to observe a little longer before we can say for sure that this is a trend [which will last]," said Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Africa director. The cases are still increasing in a dozen countries, but this increase "is not exponential", according to the WHO which nevertheless underlines that the low level of the number of tests and the lack of material to make them make it "a constant challenge. ".
Among the countries reporting a high number of cases per million population are South Africa, Djibouti, Gabon and Cape Verde. Update on the situation in several key African countries.
- South Africa - More than half of the continent's cases
Africa's most industrialized country accounts for more than half of the continent's confirmed cases, with 538,184 infections. South Africa is the fifth most affected country in the world, behind the United States, Brazil, India and Russia.
The cases recorded daily are decreasing slightly, falling below the 10,000 mark against an average of 12,000 in July. More than 9,000 people died. "We are not done yet [with the pandemic]," South African Minister of Health Zweli Mkwize admitted on Tuesday.
He indicated that his country could "have reached the peak [of the pandemic] by the end of August", however warning of the risk of a second wave in the event of too rapid abandonment of measures taken to contain the spread of the virus.
South Africa imposed one of the strictest lockdowns in the world at the end of March, before easing it. Faced with the explosion of contaminations, schools have once again been closed for a month and a night curfew has been reinstated.
Some 24,000 health workers in South Africa have been infected with Covid-19 since the pandemic began in March and 181 have died from it, a number higher than in most other African countries.
South Africa has the best hospitals and health centers on the continent, but the WHO still sent 43 experts there this week to "strengthen" the country's response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
- Egypt - Second most affected country in Africa
Egypt was the first African country to report a case of Covid-19 on February 14, 2020. To date, it has officially declared 95,000 cases, including 4,630 fatalities, placing it in second place on the continent behind South Africa.
The number of daily cases has fallen from around 1,500 in July to less than 200 this week.
On July 18, Jihane al-Assal, who heads the scientific committee against the novel coronavirus, claimed that his country had "passed the peak of the pandemic". She announced last weekend the gradual closure of hospitals where Covid-19 patients were placed in isolation, adding however that the government was "preparing" for a possible second wave of the pandemic.
A curfew imposed in the country in March was lifted in June and regular domestic and international flights resumed on July 1. Tourism, a key sector for Egypt, is picking up very slowly.
- Nigeria - Only 3,000 tests per day
Nearly 45,000 cases have been identified in the most populous country in Africa (200 million inhabitants), including 930 fatalities, placing Nigeria in third position. Daily cases, which were 500 to 800 last month, have dropped to 300 or 400.
But the authorities fear an even more serious second wave. "A further increase in cases is expected [with the relaxation of restrictive measures in an attempt to stem the pandemic]", said Boss Mustapha, who leads the fight against coronavirus in the presidency.
In Lagos, a megalopolis of 20 million inhabitants and epicenter of the epidemic, these measures are gradually being lifted, as evidenced by the reopening of churches and mosques on Friday.
Only 3,000 tests are done every day in Nigeria, a tenth of those done in South Africa which has a population of just 58 million.
- Algeria - Resurgence of cases
For several weeks, Algeria has been facing an upsurge in the pandemic: 1,273 deaths and more than 33,626 cases were recorded with a record of 675 cases on July 24. After the first partial deconfinement measures in early June, the country has recorded an upsurge in cases.
On June 29, the government opted for "targeted containment" of localities and neighborhoods in the grip of outbreaks of Covid-19 infection. It also decided to keep its borders closed.
The spread of the pandemic has caused great damage to the country's economy, which is also facing the collapse in oil prices. Many traders, including restaurant owners, coffee shops or owners of travel agencies are at risk of going bankrupt.
- Ethiopia - Substantial increase in cases in July
In less than three weeks in July, the number of cases rose dramatically in Ethiopia and on Thursday, the country of some 110 million people recorded more than 20,000 cases and more than 365 deaths.
If these figures remain low compared to the number of inhabitants, the WHO fears that the recent riots and demonstrations linked to the murder of a popular singer belonging to the majority Oromo ethnic group, will accelerate the transmission of the virus, the strict measures to counter it not being as well applied as before.
About three-quarters of the cases are in the capital Addis Ababa.
- Zimbabwe - Precarious health situation
It is one of the African countries where daily infections are climbing the most: the number of recorded cases doubled in ten days last month and is now 4,200, of which 81 are fatal.
With a failing health system struggling with a lack of medicines and equipment, and underpaid and overworked staff, the situation in Zimbabwe is particularly precarious.
Nurses, who have been on a pearl strike for months to demand better wages and better protection against the virus, have been joined by doctors.
At the funeral of one of his ministers who died from Covid-19, President Emmerson Mnangagwa called on health workers to act responsibly, promising they would meet their demands, but not "at the cost of loss of lives ". "When the pandemic spreads and the death toll rises, there are no winners, none. We all die," he said.
With AFP
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