WHO: COVID-19, Situation update for the WHO African Region

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Source: https://reliefweb.int/report/south-a...on-report-3-18

COVID-19, Situation update for the WHO African Region, External Situation Report 3 (18 March 2020)

Source: WHO
Published: 18 Mar 2020

1. Situation update

345 cases, 7 deaths

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak in the WHO African Region continues to evolve rapidly, with several new countries reporting confirmed cases and an associated upsurge in incidence cases reported across the region. WHO and partners continue to monitor and provide technical and operational support to Member States to scale up the response in affected countries and enhance readiness in the rest of the region...

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WEEKLY BULLETIN ON OUTBREAKS AND OTHER EMERGENCIES Week 24: 8 - 14 June 2020
Data as reported by: 17:00; 14 June 2020
...
Coronavirus disease 2019

WHO African Region

173 000 Cases
4 081 Deaths
2.4% CFR

EVENT DESCRIPTION

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak continues in the
WHO African Region, with an increase in reported cases and deaths.
The daily caseload remains high but with differential trends among
countries. South Africa has consistently registered the highest daily
increase, with over 3 000 cases reported daily for the past two
weeks, hitting its highest level on 14 June 2020 with 4 302 cases.
Incidences of imported cases within the region and clusters of cases
among quarantine sites and prison settings are still on the increase.

During week 24 (from 8 to 14 June 2020 week 24), there was a 30%
increase in the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases, with a total of
39 881 new confirmed COVID-19 cases reported from 42 countries,
compared to 30 490 cases reported the previous week. The region
observed the highest increase (above 50%) in six countries during
week 24: Eritrea 134% (from 41 to 96 cases), Mauritania 88% (from
947 to 1 783 cases), Benin 75% (from 268 to 470 cases), Ethiopia
66% (from 2 020 to 3 345 cases), Angola 54% (from 91 to 140
cases), and Botswana 50% (from 40 to 60 cases).

Seychelles and Equatorial Guinea have reported zero new confirmed
COVID-19 cases in the past 68 and 24 days, respectively. Gambia,
Lesotho and Mauritius did not record any new cases this week. In
the same reporting week, Eritrea reported 24 new confirmed cases
after eight days of zero reporting. These were among returnees
who had completed their quarantine period at Adibara quarantine
centre. No new country reported a new death or a new health worker
infection for the first time in this reporting week. A total of 59 new
health worker infections were recorded from six countries including,
Cameroon (32), Sierra Leone (10), Malawi (6), South Sudan (4),
Senegal (3) and Uganda (4). An additional 871 deaths were reported
from 29 countries.

From 8 to 14 June 2020, a cumulative total of 173 000 COVID-19
cases, including 172 726 confirmed and 274 probable cases from
Sao Tome and Principe (273) and Democratic Republic of the Congo
(1), with 4 081 associated deaths (case fatality ratio 2.4%) has been
reported across the region.

The highest number of cases have been reported from South Africa
(70 038), Nigeria (16 085), Ghana (11 422), Algeria (10 919),
Cameroon (9 572), Senegal (5 090), C?te d’Ivoire (5 084) Democratic
Republic of the Congo (4 778), Guinea (4 534) and Kenya (3 594).
South Africa, Nigeria, Algeria, Ghana and Cameroon represent the
top five most-affected countries, accounting for 68% of all cases and
67% of all deaths. The other countries reporting COVID-19 cases are:
Gabon (3 463), Ethiopia (3 345), Central African Republic (2 222),
Mali (1 809), Mauritania (1 583), South Sudan (1 693), GuineaBissau (1 460), Zambia (1 358), Madagascar (1 272), Sierra Leone
(1 169), Equatorial Guinea (1 043), Niger (980), Burkina Faso (894),
Chad (850), Uganda (823), Congo (779), Cabo Verde (750), Sao
Tome and Principe (661), Mozambique (583), Rwanda (582), Malawi
(547), Togo (530), United Republic of Tanzania (509), Eswatini
(490), Benin (470), Liberia (458), Zimbabwe (383), Mauritius (337),
Comoros (176), Angola (140), Eritrea (96), Burundi (94), Botswana
(60), Namibia (32), Gambia (28), Seychelles (11) and Lesotho (4).
Among the 173 000 confirmed COVID-19 cases, 83 574 (48%)
recoveries have been reported from all 47 countries in the region.

As of 14 June 2020, a total of 5 212 health workers have been infected
in 36 countries: South Africa (2 084), Nigeria (812), Cameroon
(325), Ghana (227), Niger (184), Guinea-Bissau (152), Senegal
(141), Guinea (134), Democratic Republic of the Congo (131), C?te
d’Ivoire (130), Sierra Leone (127), Zambia (111), Ethiopia (87), Chad
(75), Kenya (64), Gabon (57), South Sudan (55), Equatorial Guinea
(53), Liberia (48), Cabo Verde (40), Sao Tome and Principe (40),
Mauritius (30), Togo (23), Congo (20), Uganda (20), Malawi (18),
Eswatini (8), Botswana (3), Namibia (3), Benin (2), Madagascar (2),
Zimbabwe (2), Angola (1), Burundi (1), Central African Republic (1)
and United Republic of Tanzania (1).

Forty-two countries have reported a total of 4 081 deaths in the
region, including: South Africa (1 480), Algeria (767), Nigeria (420),
Cameroon (275), Democratic Republic of Congo (106), Mali (104),
Kenya (103), Mauritania (87), Chad (73), Niger (66), Senegal (60),
Ethiopia (57), Burkina Faso (53), Ghana (51), Sierra Leone (51), Cote
d’Ivoire (45), Liberia (32), South Sudan (27), Guinea (25), Congo
(25), Gabon (23), United Republic of Tanzania (21), Guinea Bissau
(15), Togo (13), Equatorial Guinea (12), Zambia (11), Madagascar
(10), Sao Tome and Principe (10), Mauritius (10), Central African
Republic (7), Benin (7), Cabo Verde (6), Malawi (6), Angola (6),
Eswatini (4), Zimbabwe (4), Comoros (2), Mozambique (2), Rwanda
(2), Botswana (1), Burundi (1) and Gambia (1). The countries with
the highest case fatality ratios are Chad 8.6% (73/850), Algeria 7.0%
(767/10 919), Liberia 7.0% (32/458), Niger 6.7% (66/980), Burkina
Faso 6.0% (53/894), Mali 5.7% (104/1 809), Mauritania 4.9%
(87/1 583) and Sierra Leone 4.4% (51/1 169).

According to the available data on age and gender distribution
(n=5 248), males 3 272 (62%) in the 31-39 and 40-49 age groups
are more affected than females 1 976 (38%) across the same age
groups. The age distribution of cases ranges from one month to 89
years, with a median of 38.5 years. The ages of the deceased case
patients range from 21 to 88 years, with a median of 58 years.

The distribution of transmission in the region has shown little change
in the past two weeks; 27 countries are experiencing community
transmission, 13 have clusters of cases and seven have sporadic
cases of COVID-19.
...
SITUATION INTERPRETATION

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to expand in the African region,
with the total number of confirmed cases increasing steadily in
the past weeks. All countries need to continue with strengthening
capacities for critical control measures, including active case finding,
testing of all suspected cases, isolating and treating cases, contact
tracing and quarantine of at-risk people. Intense communication
campaigns and community engagement are still required to increase
awareness on physical distancing, hand washing and cough etiquette.
...


https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/...0814062020.pdf

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WEEKLY BULLETIN ON OUTBREAKS
AND OTHER EMERGENCIES
Week 25: 15 - 21 June 2020
Data as reported by: 17:00; 21 June 2020
...
Coronavirus disease 2019
WHO African Region

222 074 Cases
4 964 Deaths
2.2% CFR

EVENT DESCRIPTION

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak continues in the
WHO African Region, with an increase in reported cases and deaths.
The daily caseload remains high but with differential trends among
countries, albeit with a continuous decrease in the overall case
fatality ratio. South Africa has consistently registered the highest
daily increase, with over 3 000 cases reported daily for the past two
weeks. In this epidemiological week, South Africa and the entire
African region recorded their highest peak of 4 966 and 8 230 cases
respectively on 20 June 2020. South Africa also reported its highest
daily count of deaths, 94, on 19 June 2020. Incidences of imported
cases within the region and clusters of cases among quarantine sites
and prison settings are still on the increase.

During week 25 (from 15 to 21 June 2020), there was a 30%
increase in the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases, with a total of
49 074 new confirmed COVID-19 cases reported from 42 countries,
compared to 39 881 cases reported the previous week. The region
observed the highest increase (above 50%) in five countries during
week 24: Namibia 72% (from 23 to 55 cases), Benin 63% (from 295
to 765 cases), Mauritania 58% (from 1 030 to 2 813 cases), Burundi
53% (from 50 to 144 cases) and Eritrea 50% (from 47 to 143 cases).
Seychelles, Equatorial Guinea, Lesotho and Mauritius have reported
zero new confirmed COVID-19 cases in the past 75, 31, 20 and 15
days, respectively. Although United Republic of Tanzania has no new
confirmed cases in our database in the last 24 hours, there are no
official reports indicating zero confirmed cases.

A total of 91 new health worker infections were recorded from five
countries including C?te d’Ivoire (33), Sierra Leone (23), Malawi
(14), South Sudan (15) and Uganda (6). An additional 883 deaths
were reported from 31 countries. One new country, Burkina Faso
retrospectively reported 90 health worker infections in this week. No
new country reported a new death for the first time in this reporting
week.
From 15 to 21 June 2020, a cumulative total of 222 074 COVID-19
cases, including 221 763 confirmed and 311 probable cases from
Sao Tome and Principe (310) and Democratic Republic of the Congo
(1), with 4 081 associated deaths (case fatality ratio 2.2%) has been
reported across the region.

The highest number of cases have been reported from South
Africa (97 302), Nigeria (20 244), Ghana (14 154), Algeria
(11 771), Cameroon (11 281), C?te d’Ivoire (7 492), Senegal
(5 888), Democratic Republic of the Congo (5 826), Guinea
(4 998) and Kenya (4 738). South Africa, Nigeria, Algeria, Ghana
and Cameroon represent the top five most-affected countries,
accounting for 70% of all cases and 74% of all deaths. The other
countries reporting COVID-19 cases are: Ethiopia (4 532), Gabon
(4 428), Mauritania (2 813), Central African Republic (2 808), Mali
(1 961), South Sudan (1 882), Madagascar (1 596), Guinea-Bissau
(1 512), Zambia (1 430), Sierra Leone (1 327), Equatorial Guinea
(1 043), Niger (1 036), Burkina Faso (901), Cabo Verde (890), Congo
(883), Chad (858), Benin (765), Uganda (755), Mozambique (733),
Malawi (730), Rwanda (728), Sao Tome and Principe (698), Eswatini
(635), Liberia (626), Togo (569), United Republic of Tanzania (509),
Zimbabwe (489), Mauritius (337), Comoros (247), Angola (176),

Burundi (144), Eritrea (143), Botswana (89), Namibia (55), Gambia
(37), Seychelles (11) and Lesotho (4).

Among the 222 074 confirmed COVID-19 cases, 113 368 (51%)
recoveries have been reported from all 47 countries in the region.
To date, a total of 5 766 health workers (26% of total cases) have been
infected in 37 countries: South Africa (2 084), Nigeria (987), Ghana
(351), Cameroon (325), Niger (184), C?te d’Ivoire (179), GuineaBissau (174),
Sierra Leone (150), Senegal (147), Guinea (134),
Democratic Republic of the Congo (132), Zambia (111), Burkina
Faso (90), Ethiopia (87), South Sudan (84), Chad (75), Kenya (64),
Gabon (57), Equatorial Guinea (53), Liberia (50), Cabo Verde (40),
Sao Tome and Principe (40), Malawi (35), Mauritius (30), Uganda
(27), Togo (23), Congo (20), Eswatini (17), Botswana (3), Namibia
(3), Benin (2), Madagascar (2), Zimbabwe (2), Angola (1), Burundi
(1), Central African Republic (1) and United Republic of Tanzania (1).
Forty-two countries have reported a total of 4 964 deaths in the
region, including: South Africa (1 930), Algeria (845), Nigeria (518),
Cameroon (300), Democratic Republic of Congo (129), Kenya (123),
Mali (111), Mauritania (108), Ghana (85), Senegal (84), Ethiopia (74),
Chad (74), Niger (67), Sierra Leone (55), Cote d’Ivoire (54), Burkina
Faso (53), Gabon (34), South Sudan (34), Liberia (34), Guinea
(27), Congo (27), Central African Republic (23), United Republic
of Tanzania (21), Guinea Bissau (16), Madagascar (14), Benin (13),
Togo (13), Equatorial Guinea (12), Zambia (11), Malawi (11), Sao
Tome and Principe (10), Mauritius (10), Angola (9), Cabo Verde (8),
Zimbabwe (6), Mozambique (5), Eswatini (5), Comoros (5), Gambia
(2), Rwanda (2), Botswana (1) and Burundi (1). The countries with
the highest case fatality ratios are Chad 8.6% (74/858), Algeria 7.2%
(845/11 771), Niger 6.5% (66/1 036), Burkina Faso 6.0% (53/901),
Mali 5.7% (111/1 961), Liberia 5.4% (34/626) and Angola 5.1%
(9/176).

According to the available data on age and gender distribution (n=6 451),
males 3 895 (60%) in the 31-39 and 40-49 age groups are more
affected than females 2 556 (40%) across the same age groups. The
age distribution of cases ranges from one month to 89 years, with
a median of 36 years. The ages of the deceased case-patients range
from 21 to 88 years, with a median of 56 years.

The distribution of transmission in the region has shown little change
in the past two weeks; 27 countries are experiencing community
transmission, 13 have clusters of cases and seven have sporadic
cases of COVID-19.

PUBLIC HEALTH ACTIONS

International experts from WHO AFRO arrived in Guinea Bissau
to support the response of the Ministry of Health against
COVID-19. The procedure for deploying emergency medical
team to southern Sudan, Chad and Cameroon is still underway.
Their requests are being processed at the HQ level in Geneva.

A total of 1 952 408 (12% of amount requested) personal
protective equipment and 337 789 reagents and sampling kits
were sent to the 47 countries. The team still faces challenges
around shipping too few supplies because shipments are
made according to readiness status at supplier level and the
availability of flights.

Teleconference calls were held with countries with a focus on
countries with high case fatality rates (Chad), and increasing
numbers of cases (Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa). The aim
was to understand concrete actions taken by WCO so far, as
well as health worker infections, and new WHO guidelines
were discussed, and discharge criteria clarified with Ghana.
Management of critically ill patients with a focus on production
and distribution of oxygen and the Guideline Adaptation Group
reviewed the guideline “Clinical Management of the Pregnant
Woman, Delivery and Postnatal period” with Sierra Leone.

WHO continues to support the response to a new Ebola
outbreak in northwest Democratic Republic of the Congo. The
new outbreak comes as the country continues to respond to
the complex Ebola outbreak in the eastern part of the country,
as well as the COVID-19 pandemic, the world’s largest measles
outbreak, and a complex and long-standing humanitarian crisis.

The roll out of PACT initiative (Partnership to Accelerate Testing
in Africa) was supported, with aim to increase testing, tracing
and treatment through training of 100 000 health workers to
support the COVID-19 response, increase testing to 15 million
per month for the next six months and support provision of
supportive care to patients.

WHO AFRO continues with the deployment of experts upon
requests by Member States amidst the travel restrictions.
WHO is leveraging on humanitarian flights and also identifying
resourceful persons locally to support their countries.

SITUATION INTERPRETATION

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to expand in the African region,
with the total number of confirmed cases increasing steadily in the
past weeks and now above 200 000. The pandemic is still driven
by the top five reporting countries, South Africa, Nigeria, Algeria,
Ghana and Cameroon which account for accounting for 70% of all
cases and 74% of all deaths. All countries should continue with
strengthening capacities for critical control measures, including
active case finding, testing of all suspected cases, isolating and
treating cases, contact tracing and quarantine of at-risk people.
Intense communication campaigns and community engagement are
still required to increase awareness on physical distancing, hand
washing and cough etiquette.

...

https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/332594/OEW25-1521062020.pdf

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Africa closes in on one million COVID-19 cases

30 July 2020

Brazzaville/Cairo – COVID-19 infections in Africa will exceed one million cases in the coming days as the pandemic surges in several hotspot countries. In a little more than three weeks, the number of cases on the continent almost doubled to 889 457, with 18 806 deaths.

Overall, the pandemic is accelerating with the number of new cases increasing by 50% during the last 14 days compared with the previous fortnight. However, only five countries account for about 75% of the cumulative COVID-19 cases – they are Algeria, Egypt, Ghana, Nigeria and South Africa. South Africa alone accounts for around half of the continent’s total cases. Deaths are also increasing. A total of 4376 new deaths were recorded during the last 14 days, representing a 22% increase from the previous two weeks.

Seven countries in sub-Saharan Africa which had imposed lockdowns and have now started easing them have experienced a 20% jump in cases over the past two weeks. Some countries such as the Republic of the Congo and Morocco have had to re-implement partial restrictions because of an increase in cases.

“As Africa approaches one million cases, the continent is at a pivotal point,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Africa. “The virus has spilled out of major cities and spread into distant hinterlands. Countries need to keep apace and urgently decentralize their key response services. We can still stop COVID-19 from reaching full momentum, but the time to act is now.”

One of our most important collective responsibilities is to protect front line health workers, who are at high risk. Forty-one African countries have reported nearly 14 000 health worker infections. In 16 countries which reported health worker infections over the past month, nearly a quarter recorded an increase in the past two weeks compared with the preceding fortnight.

Expanding the scale and quality of public health measures such as testing, contact tracing, isolation and care of patients remain central to the response, as well as preventing infection through handwashing, physical distancing and wearing of masks. Lifting of lockdowns that have helped to slow down the spread of COVID-19 should be evidence-based, phased and targeted.

As borders start to re-open and with the Islamic holiday, Eid al-Adha, about to begin on Friday marked by social and religious gatherings, there is a concern that the virus could spread further, even to areas that are still untouched by COVID-19, if necessary precautions are not taken.

“As we approach the Eid Al Adha feast, there is also increased risk of transmission as a result of social and religious mass gatherings. Any decision to restrict, modify, postpone, cancel, or proceed with holding a mass gathering should be based on a standardized risk assessment, and should be part of a comprehensive approach taken by authorities to respond to the pandemic,” said Dr Ahmed Al-Mandhari, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean.

WHO recently released guidance to countries and communities on public health measures for Eid Al Adha in the context of COVID-19.

Under-reporting of cases is a challenge as testing for COVID-19 in Africa remains low by global benchmarks, but capacity has expanded significantly. About 7.7 million tests have been performed since February. The number of tests performed per 10 000 population as of mid-July was below 100 in 43 countries out of the 54 assessed. This must improve.

Although infections are on the rise across the continent, the trend is varied. Nine countries in sub-Saharan Africa have reported a decline in cases over the past three weeks. Gabon and Mauritania have made significant progress, with the time it takes for case numbers to double increasing. In Djibouti and Tunisia, very few cases have been reported for the last few weeks, and most are imported. In Egypt, Africa’s second-most populous country and one of the hardest hit by COVID-19, a decline in cases has been observed over the last five weeks.

WHO is supporting countries respond to COVID-19 by providing technical guidance, crucial medical equipment and has remotely trained more than 72 000 health workers and partnered with regional and national professional associations to build on existing capacity. Through an online supply portal, WHO, other United Nations agencies and partners have also organized shipments of more than 650 requests of key equipment, including more than 2400 oxygen concentrators to 47 countries in the region.

We know the strategies and have the tools to control this pandemic. Our health workers are doing everything that they can. We must ensure that they have a reliable supply of personal protective equipment, supplies and medicines.

Dr Moeti and Dr Al-Mandhari held a virtual press conference today organized by APO Group.


https://www.afro.who.int/news/africa...covid-19-cases