With CoV numbers rising in Africa, the World Health Organization (WHO) is warning that the worst is yet to come for the continent. “Africa has just had its worst pandemic week yet,” Matshidiso Moeti, WHO regional director for Africa, said yesterday.
“But the worst is yet to come as the third wave of the pandemic is gaining momentum on the continent.”
Case numbers have been rising rapidly in Africa since early May. In the week ending July 4 alone, 251,000 new infections were recorded on the continent – a 20 percent increase from the previous week. The more contagious delta variant has already been detected in ten countries.
So far, only two percent of Africans have been vaccinated. According to UN regional chief Moeti, the imminent delivery of more vaccine doses through the Covax program offers hope.
South Africa is the hardest hit country in Africa, where new daily infections reached a new high of 26,000 cases over the weekend. Tunisia also complains of a “catastrophic” health situation in the face of record numbers. “The health system has unfortunately collapsed,” said a health ministry spokeswoman.
— source: ORF.at/agencies/picture: pixabay.com
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