Coronavirus cases in African countries nearly 8000

Fifty countries in Africa have confirmed cases of Covid-19, bringing the total number of cases according to Worldometer to 7,933 as of Saturday morning.

Within the week, Burundi, Botswana, Sierra Leone, and Malawi confirmed their index cases of the virus.

Despite being surrounded by countries that have confirmed cases, Comoros, Lesotho, Sao Tome and Principe and South Sudan have not recorded a single coronavirus case. Experts according to reports by CNBC have suggested that “a lack of reporting capacity could be a factor” as to why there are no cases in those countries.

Lockdown

In an effort to contain and prevent the spread of the virus, governments globally are applying vigorous measures to curb the deadly virus.

Nigeria on Monday announced a 14-day lockdown on Lagos, Abuja, and Ogun State.

Nigeria now has 210 confirmed cases.

Accra and Kumasi, Ghana’s two most populous cities also went into lockdown on Monday. They now have 205 confirmed coronavirus cases.

Botswana who recently confirmed its index cases, almost immediately announced a state of emergency and a 28-day lockdown that took effect at midnight on Thursday.

Enclaved in South Africa, Lesotho despite having zero cases thus far, implemented a lockdown on Monday.

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In South Africa, while they still observe their three weeks lockdown, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on Monday the deployment of 10000 field workers to “conduct door to door screening and contact tracing.”

Enforcement

In many countries, lockdowns are enforced by armed police and military personnel – some of which have reportedly used force and has led to a complaint of police brutality.

Kenyan police on Tuesday reportedly shot and killed a 13-year-old boy in Mathare, Nairobi.

Similarly, in South Africa videos have circulated showing the brutality of the South African National Defence Force against its citizens.

Top affected countries in the continent

South Africa still tops the chart with the highest number of cases on the continent.

A breakdown of top countries where cases have been confirmed indicate that South Africa now has 1,505 cases, followed by Algeria – 1,171, Egypt – 985, Morocco – 791, Cameroon – 509, Tunisia – 495, Burkina Faso – 302, Cote D’Ivoire 218, Nigeria – 210, and Senegal – 207.

As numbers increase in the continent WHO director-general Tedros Ghebreyesus cautioned on Tuesday that the “developing world will likely be hit hardest by the pandemic unless it can successfully contain the spread early on.”