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Covid-19 circumstances in Africa have now topped 3 million and day by day circumstances have surpassed the height of the first wave, in accordance to the World Health Organization (WHO).
The continent is now confronted with “emerging variants” of the virus, WHO Africa stated in a assertion on Thursday.
On common, 25,223 circumstances had been reported every day throughout the continent from December 28 to January 10, in accordance to the discharge. These numbers are “nearly 39% higher than the July 2020 two-week peak of 18,104 daily average cases,” it added.
The UN physique cautioned that the worst could also be but to come, saying that Africa’s numbers “may rise further in the coming days in the wake of travelling, gathering and festivities over Christmas and New Year holidays.”
The WHO stated that the brand new variant of the virus first found in South Africa is “accounting for most of the new infections during the second wave.”
“Genomic sequencing has found the variant present in Botswana, the Gambia and Zambia” the discharge added.
Despite no indications to this point of the presence of the one other variant, first discovered within the UK, on the African continent, “further investigation is needed,” in accordance to the WHO.
Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, the WHO Regional Director for Africa commented that “even when the brand new variant just isn’t extra virulent, a virus that may unfold extra simply will put additional pressure on hospitals and well being staff who are in lots of circumstances already overstretched.”
Moeti known as on all African nations to “improve testing and sequencing of the virus to swiftly spot, observe and deal with new COVID-19 variants as quickly as they seem.”
“To defeat an agile, adaptive and relentless enemy, we should know and perceive its each transfer, and double down on what we all know works finest in opposition to all variants of the virus.”
