This archive report was first published on 7 August 2020.
Coronavirus Cases in Africa Surpass One Million ¶
As of Thursday, August 6, 2020, Africa has recorded 1,000,054 coronavirus cases and at least 21,724 deaths, according to an AFP tally. This accounts for around five percent of global cases.
Just five countries account for 75% of all cases in Africa, the continent's health watchdog, the Africa Centres for Diseases Control, says.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported that some countries have recently seen declines of around 20% in daily cases, but it is too early to confirm this as a trend. Around 10 countries are still experiencing increases in cases.
Key Countries Affected ¶
South Africa ¶
South Africa, the continent's most industrialized economy, has recorded more than 529,000 infections, accounting for 53% of the continental caseload. The country has seen a slight decrease in daily infections in recent days, with numbers dropping below 10,000 cases compared to an average of 12,000 during much of July.
Health Minister Zweli Mkhize has warned that the risk of a second wave remains, saying, "we are not out of the woods yet".
Egypt ¶
Egypt, the first African country to report a coronavirus case on February 14, has officially registered the continent's second-highest number of cases, with 95,000, including 4,630 deaths. Numbers of daily new infections have recently been falling steadily, with new cases plummeting below 200 this week.
Jihane al-Assal, who heads the government's anti-coronavirus scientific panel, has said, "Egypt has passed the peak of the pandemic".
Nigeria ¶
Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation, has recorded around 45,000 cases and more than 900 deaths. Authorities have warned that a second wave is possible as restrictions are eased.
"New rise in cases are to be expected," said the chief of the presidential task force on COVID-19, Boss Mustapha.
Algeria ¶
Algeria has seen a surge in cases in the past few weeks, bringing the total to over 33,000. The nation is the fifth worst-hit in Africa in terms of infections and has the continent's third-highest number of fatalities at 1,273.
Ethiopia ¶
Ethiopia, Africa's second most populous country, has seen a sharp upward trend in cases, with infections doubling in less than three weeks in July. The country has recorded more than 20,000 cases and over 365 deaths.
Zimbabwe ¶
Zimbabwe is among the countries where daily infections are steadily rising, with numbers of diagnosed cases doubling over 10 days last month and now standing at 4,200, including 81 fatalities.
