The Wold Health Organization has expressed optimism over the severity of the Coronavirus pandemic in Africa, in a report that shows continously declining cases.
However, South Africa and Ethiopia continue to report the highest numbers of new cases in Africa, followed by Mozambique, Uganda, and Nigeria.
Africa has seen a continuous decline in case incidence since mid-July; however, this trend is now slowing
For the first week since early August, the number of new deaths has risen –led by South Africa with a 29% increase in deaths in the past week.
South Africa also has the second-highest death rate in the Region with 11,461 deaths per 1 million population.
The provinces of Gauteng and the Western Cape have reported the most cases and deaths to date; however, these regions, as well as the country itself,have reported shrinking cases.
Despite this, weekly case numbers have continued to rise in less populated provinces. The country moved to Alert Level1 as of 21 September(the least stringent of the five alert levels applied by the South African Government), with all sectors of the economy now open with strict adherence to public health protocols.
A WHO surge team of experts, including infectious disease specialists and epidemiologists, is currently in SouthAfrica and is continuing to work with the National Department of Health.
New weekly cases have risen in Angola from 400 in the week of 7 September to 698 cases in the past week, a 74% increase, although the number of new cases has declined by 10% from the past week.
Angola recently upgraded their self-reported transmission classification from ‘clusters of cases’ to ‘community transmission’. Luanda province remains the epicentrewith around 90% of all cases.
A total of 16 out of the 18 provinces have reported confirmed cases. WHO has trained around 90 community health mobilizers now operating across Luanda.
