22 Jun 2020 Jahr - Coronavirus infections pick up speed across Africa

Beschreibung:

It took almost 100 days for Africa to record its first 100,000 cases and less than 30 days to hit 300,000 cases.

After months of slow burn, recorded coronavirus cases are beginning to rise sharply in Africa.

On Sunday night, Africa passed the 300,000 case mark with an overall death toll of around 8,000, according to researchers at Johns Hopkins University.

While these cases amount to just three per cent of the world’s total, experts have warned that the pandemic is now accelerating in many parts of Africa, where poor health services make the virus an acute threat.

It took almost 100 days for Africa to record its first 100,000 coronavirus cases. It took another 18 days for Africa to reach 200,000 cases and a further 11 days to hit 300,000.

John N. Nkengasong, the director of the Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, has warned that the continent could be the next 'epicentre' of the pandemic as cases begin to overwhelm fragile health systems.

Covid-19 has spread more slowly across Africa than many thought it would. This is mainly because most African governments took quick and robust steps to limit the spread of the virus early on, while officials in the UK and US dithered. (The Telegraph)