Coronavirus: WHO warns that 190,000 could die in Africa in one year | General news

As many as 190,000 people in Africa could die in the first year of the coronavirus pandemic if crucial containment measures fail, the World Health Organization (WHO) warns.

The new research also predicts a prolonged outbreak in a few years.

“It is likely to burn slowly at critical transmission points,” says Matshidiso Moeti, WHO director for Africa.

According to WHO experts, this slower and more uneven transmission pattern differentiates Africa from other regions.

Other factors taken into account are the region’s younger populations that have “benefited from control of communicable diseases such as HIV and tuberculosis,” as well as lower death rates.

The WHO warning comes as Africa’s most populous nation, Nigeria, plus others like South Africa and the Ivory Coast, have begun to relax some of their blockade measures.

What does the study say?

The study reveals that between 29 million and 44 million people in the WHO African region could become infected in the first year of the pandemic. He warns that between 83,000 and 190,000 could die in the same period.

The estimates are based on prediction models and focus on 47 countries in the WHO African region with a combined population of one billion: Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Morocco, Eritrea, Sudan, Somalia and Djibouti are not included.

Across the African continent, the African Center for Disease Control has recorded more than 2,000 deaths from coronavirus. In comparison, 140,000 have died in Western Europe, where the virus took hold several weeks earlier.

Cases have been reported in all African nations except Lesotho.

South Africa has the highest number of confirmed cases, more than 8,200 and 160 deaths, while Algeria has the highest number of deaths: 483.

“Covid-19 could become a fixture in our lives for years to come unless many governments in the region take a proactive approach,” says Dr. Moeti in a WHO statement.

“We need to test, trace, isolate, and treat.”