The latest report from WHO Africa -
WEEKLY BULLETIN ON OUTBREAKS
AND OTHER EMERGENCIES
Week 46: 08 – 14 November 2021
Data as reported by: 17:00; 14 November 2021
...
Coronavirus disease 2019 - African region
6 109 722 Cases
151 173 Death
2.5% CFR
Coronavirus disease 2019
The WHO African region reported a total of 9 960 new cases
of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the past seven days
(8 – 14 November 2021), reflecting a 47.0% decrease compared
to the previous week. Eight countries (Burundi, Comoros,
Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea-Bissau, Malawi, Niger,
Seychelles and Zimbabwe) saw a 20% or more increase in weekly
cases compared to the preceding week.
A total of 26 (55.3%) countries reported a decrease of 20% or
more in the number of new cases compared to the previous week.
These countries are Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon,
Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire,
Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana,
Guinea, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique,
Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, South Sudan,
the United Republic of Tanzania, and Zambia.
The top five countries account for 53.4% (5 321) of the cases
recorded in the past week; namely South Africa (1 983 new cases,
8.0% increase, 3.4 new cases per 100 000 population); Ethiopia
(1 612 new cases, 21.0% decrease, 1.4 new cases per 100 000);
Algeria (814 new cases, 16.0% increase, 1.9 new cases per
100 000); Kenya (464 new cases, 11.0% decrease, 0.9 new cases
per 100 000); and Mauritius (448 new cases, 38.0% decrease,
35.0 new cases per 100 000).
A reduction in weekly COVID-19 deaths in the African region was
also seen in the week ending 14 November 2021 as 461 deaths
were reported in 25 countries, a 14% decline compared with
the previous week. The highest numbers of new deaths were
reported from South Africa (152 new deaths; 2.0% decrease; 0.3
new deaths per 100 000 population), Ethiopia (81 new deaths;
2.4% decrease; 0.1 new deaths per 100 000), Nigeria (62 new
deaths; 148% increase; 0.0 new deaths per 100 000), Algeria (39
new deaths; 26.0% increase; 0.1 new deaths per 100 000) and
Mauritius (27 new deaths; 27.0% decrease; 2.1 new deaths per
100 000).
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in the African
region, the cumulative number of confirmed COVID-19 cases
is 6 109 722, with more than 5.7 million recoveries, yielding a
recovery rate of 94.4%. The total number of deaths now stands at
151 173, accounting for a CFR of 2.5%. The WHO African Region
remains one of the least affected regions in the world, accounting
for 2.5% of global cases and 3.0% of global deaths.
Overall, South Africa has recorded the highest number of
COVID-19 cases in the region with 2 925 939 cases (48.0%),
followed by Ethiopia 368 822 (6.0%), Kenya 254 297 (4.2%),
Nigeria 213 147 (3.5%), and Zambia 209 983 (3.4%), accounting
for (3 972 188, 65.0%) of all cases. The average cumulative
attack rate (number of cases per million) in the African region
is estimated at 5 599 million population, ranging from 293 per
million to 232 563 million. Seychelles (232 563 cases per million
population), Botswana (79 074 cases/million), Cabo Verde
(69 637 cases/million), (Namibia 51 732 cases/million) and
South Africa (49 966 cases/million), are the top countries with
the highest attack rate in the region. Burkina Faso (740 cases/
million), Democratic Republic of the Congo (666 cases/million),
United Republic of Tanzania (452 cases/million), Chad (320
cases/million) and Niger (294 cases/million), have the lowest
cumulative attack rate.
Similarly, most reported deaths occurred in South Africa, which
accounts for 59.2% (89 484) of all deaths. Ethiopia has the
second-highest number of deaths (6 623 deaths, 4.4%) followed
by Algeria (5 984, 4.0%), Kenya (5 316, 3.5%) and Zimbabwe
(4 697, 3.1%), all accounting for 74.2% (112 104) of all deaths
reported in the region. The median number of deaths per million
in the African region is estimated at 63.8/million population
(range: 1.1/million –1 528/million) with an average cumulative
death rate (per million) in the African region estimated at
138 million population. South Africa (1 528 deaths/million
population), Namibia (1 429/million), Seychelles (1 168/million),
Eswatini (1 084 million), Botswana (984 million) and Cabo Verde
(635 million) are the five countries with the highest number of
COVID-19 related deaths per million population. Niger (10.2/
million population), Chad (11.0/million population) Burkina Faso
(11.3/million), South Sudan (12.0/million) and United Republic
of Tanzania (12.5/million) have the lowest number of COVID-19
related deaths per million population.
In the past seven days, 62 new health worker infections were
reported from Cameroon (48), Kenya (9), Namibia (3) and
Zimbabwe (2). An extra 86 health worker infections were reported
retrospectively from Eswatini. At the moment, there have been
144 589 COVID-19 infections (2.4% of all cases) among health
workers in the region, with South Africa accounting for 49.0%
(71 113) of the total infections. Algeria (11 936, 8.3%), Kenya
(7 830, 5.4%), Zimbabwe (5 404, 3.7%) and Mozambique (4
779, 3.3%) have also recorded high numbers of health worker
infections. Other countries reporting health worker infections are
shown in Table 1. The United Republic of Tanzania (13.0%), Liberia
(6.0%), Algeria (5.7%), Chad (5.7%), and Niger (5.3%) have the
highest proportion of health worker infections by country. Only
Eritrea has not reported any healthcare worker infections.
The African continent has recorded more than 8.6 million cases
of COVID-19, with more than 221 200 deaths (CFR 2.5%) and
nearly 8.0 million people have recovered. The African continent
accounts for 3.4% of global cases and 4.3% of global deaths.
Together with partners, the WHO is working towards vaccinating
40% of the population in all African countries by the end of 2021.
To increase COVID-19 vaccination coverage on the continent,
WHO is providing targeted support to 15 countries with low
vaccine uptake to identify and resolve gaps impeding their
COVID-19 vaccine rollout. Each country support focal person will
conduct a root cause analysis to identify gaps in the rollout.
SITUATION INTERPRETATION
New COVID-19 cases and deaths reported in the past week
continued to decline for now more than four consecutive
months. Even with this observed fall, some countries;
namely Burundi, Guinea Bissau, Malawi, Niger, Seychelles
and Zimbabwe saw a significant increase in weekly cases
in the reporting week.
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http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/348840/OEW46-0814112021.pdf
