8 countries across Africa account for 84% of Covid-19 cases in the region
Across the 47 countries in the Africa region, there are more than 265,000 cases and 7,000 people have died
Eight countries account for 84 percent of the coronavirus cases across the African region, Dr Matshidiso Moeti, World Health Organization Regional Director for Africa said during a Thursday briefing.
Across the 47 countries in the Africa region, there are more than 265,000 cases and 7,000 people have died, Moeti said, reports the CNN.
"The majority of new cases are being reported in specific hotspot, provinces and districts in the countries concerned," she said. Those countries include South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire and Cameroon.
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But other countries in the region are seeing little to no cases, Moeti said. "There is great disparity in the way that countries are affected by the pandemic."
"Seychelles, for example, has not reported a new case for more than 70 days — that's over a couple of months. Mauritius has not reported a new case in 10 days. And countries like Namibia and the Gambia are reporting very few new cases."
Moeti said a cluster of cases in refugee camps in South Sudan is "a matter of great concern."
"The situation in which people are living in refugee camps, the type of housing that they have, and the challenges that could arise then with interventions like social distancing" make refugee camps a top priority, she said.
Moeti said WHO is "working on a global humanitarian response plan that was launched by the Secretary General, to mobilize the resources that are needed to make sure that the interventions that need to be put in place, are put in place in refugee camps first."
