Africa’s Covid-19 case fatalities supersede global average

By Newsroom

21^st January 2021

Africa’s Covid-19 case fatality rate is now higher than the global average, which is “worrying and concerning”, according to the head of Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC).

The continent’s death rate stands at 2.5% against a global average of 2.2% and the number of nations recording higher rates is growing, Africa CDC Director John Nkengasong told reporters.

Earlier during the pandemic Africa recorded lower death rates than the global average, Nkengasong said.

But in the “second wave” 21 African nations had a death rate above 3%. They are Sudan, Egypt, Liberia, Mali, Chad, Niger, The Gambia, Tunisia, Eswatini, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zimbabwe.

The continent has so far confirmed 3.3 million Covid-19 cases with 2.7 million recoveries and 81,000 deaths.

Ugandan Scientists are exploring the possibility of finding a local cure for the deadly pandemic and are set to start their trial next week according to Dr. Monica Musenero, the Presidential Advisor on Epidemics.

The proposed medicine, whose components are being kept top secret, will be tried on up to 300 participants who present with mild to severe disease.

In terms of numbers, Uganda has recorded a cumulative number of 38,534 infections and 305 deaths.