Coronavirus in Africa; “The Worst is Yet to Come” -WHO

Africa has quite recently survived its most crushing seven day stretch of the pandemic, however the most exceedingly terrible is on the way as the third wave accumulates pace on the landmass, the World Health Organization said Thursday.

“Africa has just marked the continent’s most dire pandemic week ever. But the worst is yet to come as the fast-moving third wave continues to gain speed and new ground,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, the WHO’s regional director for Africa.

See also 70,000 Doses of Covid -19 Vaccine waste in Estonia.

Cases are multiplying like clockwork, contrasted and at regular intervals just seven days prior, she said during a virtual public interview, adding that “the finish to this abrupt ascent is still weeks away.

“Coronavirus cases have been ascending in Africa since the beginning of the third wave on the mainland on May 3. During the week finishing July 4, more than 251,000 new Covid-19 cases were recorded on the mainland, a 20% expansion over the earlier week and a 12% leap from the past January peak.

Sixteen African nations are presently seeing a resurgence of the infection, with the more infectious Delta strain distinguished in 10 of them.

But Moeti said there was some room for optimism because vaccine deliveries were picking up after grinding to a near halt in May and early June.

See also Coronavirus in Canada; Manitoba, Set to Further Ease Restrictions

In the past two weeks, more than 1.6 million doses were delivered to Africa through the Covax scheme, which was set up to ensure equitable distribution of vaccines to poorer countries.

A US shipment of 20 million Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer-BioNTech is due to arrive soon, to be distributed to 49 countries.

Donations from Norway and Sweden are due to follow.

“Our appeals for ‘we first and not me first’ are finally turning talk into action. But the deliveries can’t come soon enough because the third wave looms large across the continent,” she said.

Africa has so far received 66 million doses and has administered 50 million of them.

Moeti urged governments to expand vaccination sites and take other measures to take advantage of the vaccine deliveries when they come.According to latest figures, Africa has officially registered 5,730,638 cases and 147,125 deaths from Covid-19.