Africa could be next coronavirus epicentre: WHO

Gallery

MORE...

Sports

Freya Deshmane wins gold in first Winter Horse Show organised by Amateur Riders’ Club

Freya Deshmane riding on Reinroe Adare Acrobat claimed the top spot and clinched the gold

Salah sets Premier League record in Liverpool's draw at Newcastle

India Open Competition in Shotgun begins in Jaipur, paving way for Nationals' qualification

Hockey India names Amir Ali-led 20-man team for Junior Asia Cup

Harmanpreet Singh named FIH Player of the Year, PR Sreejesh gets best goalkeeper award

World Boxing medallist Gaurav Bidhuri to flag off 'Delhi Against Drugs' movement on Nov 17

MORE...

Africa could be next coronavirus epicentre: WHO

Last Updated : 17 Apr 2020 04:07:11 PM IST

WHO's Africa director, Matshidiso Moeti

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday that Africa could become the next epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic as there was a sharp rise in the numver of COVID-19 cases in the past week.

There have been almost 1,000 deaths and more than 18,000 infections across Africa so far, although these rates were far lower than those seen in parts of Europe and the US.

The WHO's Africa director, Matshidiso Moeti, told the BBC that the organisation had witnessed the virus spreading from capital cities to "the hinterland" in South Africa, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Cameroon and Ghana.

She said they were focusing on prevention rather than treating the virus because African countries don't have the capacity to treat many coronavirus patients.

"We want to minimise the proportion of people who get to the point of needing critical care in an ICU, because we know that these types of facilities are not adequate by any means in the majority of African countries," she told the BBC.

"I have to say the issue of ventilators is one of the biggest challenges that the countries are facing."

For patients critically ill with coronavirus, access to a ventilator could be a matter of life or death.

One of the first recorded deaths from coronavirus in Africa was Zimbabwean journalist Zororo Makamba in March.

The local authorities in the capital, Harare, said that they did not have a ventilator to treat him.

There were also fears that the disease could spread rapidly in overcrowded areas where it is impossible to practise social distancing and where many do not have access to clean water and soap.