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Most African states urged people to wear masks from the beginning of the outbreak.
The director of the Africa Centers for Disease Control has praised African states for having succeeded in slowing the spread of the coronavirus.
Africa has seen around 1.4 million cases and 34,000 deaths since March.
These figures are much lower than those for Europe, Asia or the Americas, and reported cases continue to decline.
The early interventions played a crucial role in slowing the spread of the virus, John Nkengasong told the BBC’s Newsday program.
He described as “false” suggestions that the cases and deaths in Africa were not significantly reported.
“We may not have detected every case, just like in other parts of the world … but we are not seeing people across the continent dropping dead in the streets or mass burials,” said Dr. Nkengasong.
All African states introduced a series of measures to combat the virus as soon as the first cases were reported in March. Many, including South Africa, introduced nationwide lockdowns, but others, such as Ethiopia, opted for less stringent measures.
Dr. Nkengasong, however, attributed the low number to a “joint continental effort,” which focused on “expanding testing and tracking contact tracing and, more importantly, masking,” or the use of of face masks.
“In many countries, including Ethiopia where I live, if you go to the streets of Addis Ababa you will see that there is almost 100% masking,” he added.
What other reasons did he give?
Africa’s relatively young population also contributed to the low number of cases, Dr. Nkengasong said.
Additionally, the emphasis on community-driven initiatives and experience in contact tracing from fighting diseases like Ebola have helped countries fight the virus, he said.
“This virus is in the community, and without a strong community response and strong community engagement, there is no chance that we can fight it,” added Dr. Nkengasong.
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