The coronavirus pandemic is accelerating in Africa, said an official with the World Health Organization.
Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, WHO’s regional director for Africa, said during a briefing at the organization’s Geneva headquarters that the continent has roughly 200,000 confirmed cases and 5,000 deaths, with 10 countries accounting for 75 percent of those cases, BBC reported Thursday.
She said South Africa had more than a quarter of the continent’s confirmed cases, with high case numbers and deaths also in the Eastern Cape and Western Cape provinces.
Moeti said the coronavirus has spread beyond Africa’s capital cities and responses have been stalled due to the lack of tests and other supplies.
“Even though these cases in Africa account for less than three percent of the global total, it’s clear that the pandemic is accelerating,” she said, BBC reported.