• Privacy policy
  • T&C’s
  • About Us
    • FAQ
  • Contact us
  • Guest Content
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Elevenses
  • Business
  • Food
  • Travel
  • Property
  • JOBS
  • All
    • All Entertainment
    • Film
    • Sport
    • Tech/Auto
    • Lifestyle
    • Lottery Results
      • Lotto
      • Set For Life
      • Thunderball
      • EuroMillions
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
SUPPORT THE LONDON ECONOMIC
NEWSLETTER
The London Economic
No Result
View All Result
Home News World News

Africa could become Covid-19 epicentre after 43% rise in cases

John Nkengasong, director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, warned that testing capacity is ‘very limited’.

Joe Mellor by Joe Mellor
2020-04-24 11:22
in World News
Credit;PA

Credit;PA

FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmailWhatsapp

Africa has seen a 43% jump in reported Covid-19 cases in the last week following a warning from the World Health Organisation that the continent of 1.3 billion could become the next epicentre of the pandemic.

Africa has a “very, very limited” and “very, very strained” testing capacity, John Nkengasong, director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, said in his weekly briefing on Thursday.

It means that the surge in infections on the continent is likely to be even higher in reality, he said.

The WHO’s recent report painted a grim picture for Africa. It warned the virus could kill more than 300,000 people and push 30 million into desperate poverty.

Africa still has time to avert such a disaster but testing people and tracing virus cases is critical, said Mr Nkengasong.

“It all depends on what we are discussing here,” Mr Nkengasong said, “which is, are you testing? Are you finding the cases? Are you isolating and tracking the contacts? It is not a prediction that means it must happen.”

Testing

By Mr Nkengasong’s own criteria, Africa is struggling on the testing front.

In the two months since the continent began mobilising to fight the outbreak, less than 500,000 tests have been conducted on a population of more than 1 billion. That is just 325 people tested per 1 million people, Mr Nkengasong said. That is far lower than Italy, one of the world’s worst-hit countries, he said by way of comparison.

African governments reported nearly 26,000 cases as of Thursday, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, up from just over 16,000 a week ago. Although those figures are still relatively small in the global picture, the sharp increase is a cause for concern, said Mr Nkengasong. The previous week saw an increase of 29%.

RelatedPosts

Here’s a list of all the countries the US has bombed since World War II

Ukraine war: Fear and hope as Russian bombardment intensifies

Thousands evacuated as out-of-control wildfire scorches Tenerife

WATCH: President Joe Biden caught on mic saying ‘no one f**ks with a Biden’

“If you don’t test, you don’t find. And if you don’t test, you are blinded. If you don’t test, you are not ahead of the curve,” Mr Nkengasong said.

Fragility

The Africa Centres for Disease Control has a target of conducting 1 million more tests in Africa over the next four weeks and 10 million tests in the next four months. The overall effort is badly hampered, Mr Nkengasong said, by a major obstacle – the existing fragility of the health services in many African countries.

“I’d like to make sure I make this very clear,” he said. “It is an uphill battle to build health systems while you need them. That is what we are actually doing now. We are playing catch-up and that is a very, very tough thing to do.”

Related – Black cats killed and eaten in Vietnam – over rumours they treat COVID-19

Subscribe to our Newsletter

View our  Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions

About Us

TheLondonEconomic.com – Open, accessible and accountable news, sport, culture and lifestyle.

Read more

SUPPORT

We do not charge or put articles behind a paywall. If you can, please show your appreciation for our free content by donating whatever you think is fair to help keep TLE growing and support real, independent, investigative journalism.

DONATE & SUPPORT

Contact

Editorial enquiries, please contact: [email protected]

Commercial enquiries, please contact: [email protected]

Address

The London Economic Newspaper Limited t/a TLE
Company number 09221879
International House,
24 Holborn Viaduct,
London EC1A 2BN,
United Kingdom

© The London Economic Newspaper Limited t/a TLE thelondoneconomic.com - All Rights Reserved. Privacy

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Lottery Results
    • Lotto
    • Set For Life
    • Thunderball
    • EuroMillions
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
  • Food
  • Travel
  • JOBS
  • More…
    • Elevenses
    • Opinion
    • Property
    • Tech & Auto
  • About Us
    • Privacy policy
  • Contact us

© The London Economic Newspaper Limited t/a TLE thelondoneconomic.com - All Rights Reserved. Privacy

← “We can start reshaping the post-crisis economy now” – McDonnell ← Rishi Sunak considers 100% loans to small businesses as pressure mounts
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Lottery Results
    • Lotto
    • Set For Life
    • Thunderball
    • EuroMillions
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
  • Food
  • Travel
  • JOBS
  • More…
    • Elevenses
    • Opinion
    • Property
    • Tech & Auto
  • About Us
    • Privacy policy
  • Contact us

© The London Economic Newspaper Limited t/a TLE thelondoneconomic.com - All Rights Reserved. Privacy

-->