By Adedapo Adesanya
The World Health Organization (WHO) has said Africa may take over from Europe as the epicentre of the coronavirus.
This is because the number of known coronavirus cases in Africa has risen 51 percent over the past week and could hit 10 million within the next six months.
The number of reported deaths is up by 60 percent over the same period, but the real figures are likely to be even higher than those being reported, according to Director General, Mr Tedros Ghebreyesus.
Mr Ghebreyesus also addressed concerns around wet markets, the markets across Asia, where live animals and wildlife are often sold for food.
Although the origin of COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus, is yet to be identified, many scientists suspect the virus jumped to humans from animals at a wet market in Wuhan, China.
Mr Ghebreyesus said the markets were “an important source for food and livelihoods for millions” but recommended they were only reopened “on the condition that they conform to stringent food safety and hygiene standards.”
According to new research, Africa could see 300,000 deaths from the coronavirus under a best-case scenario, according to modeling by the Imperial College London.
Under the worst-case scenario with no interventions against the virus, Africa could see 3.3 million deaths and 1.2 billion infections, quoted another report by the UN Economic Commission for Africa said.
The world’s poorest continent has seen more than 21,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and above 1000 deaths so far – relatively few compared with other regions like Europe and Asia, but with behaviour such as disbelief and refusal to follow health protocols, this may soon increase.
Mrs Matshidiso Moeti, director of WHO’s Africa region, which comprises 46 sub-Saharan nations and Algeria said, “We are concerned that the virus continues to spread geographically, within countries.
“The numbers continue to increase every day.”
She explained that South Africa, which has the highest number of cases, has slowed after it began a strict lockdown, but other nations such as Burkina Faso, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Algeria have seen higher than average fatalities.
She also said the organisation requires $300 million to help African governments respond to the pandemic.
She further warned that President Donald Trump’s withdrawal of US funding for the WHO could harm not only the fight against the coronavirus but also that against other killers such as polio, HIV and malaria.
More than 2.3 million people have been infected globally, with the largest number in the US.
161,904 people have died with 606,654 recoveries worldwide. In Africa, there are currently 21,096 cases with 1,055 deaths according to the Africa Centre for Disease Disease Control and Prevention.
