South Africa Overtakes Egypt In Number Of Confirmed Covid-19 Cases To Top African Cases Count.
27 April 2020
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More than two months after Egypt became the first country in Africa to confirm a coronavirus case, the outbreak appears to have reached almost every nation on the continent of 1.2 billion people.

Of Africa’s 54 countries, only two have yet to report a case of the virus: Comoros and Lesotho.

As of Sunday, the confirmed coronavirus death toll on the continent stood at 1,374 with fatalities including the former President of the Republic of the Congo Jacques Joachim Yhombi-Opango and Somalia’s former Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein.

Experts warn fragile healthcare systems in many African countries could be overwhelmed in the face of a severe outbreak of COVID-19, the highly infectious respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus.

Statistics reported by 52 African Union (AU) member states were 30,329 cases; 1,374 deaths; and 9,106 recoveries, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said in a statement.

South Africa has the most confirmed cases out of all the member states with 4,546 confirmed case; 87 deaths; 1,473 recoveries. Egypt has 4,319; with 307 deaths reported and 1,114 recoveries.

Morocco has 3,897 cases, 159 deaths and 537 recoveries and Algeria 3,256; 419; 1,479.

The regional breakdown was as follows: 

Central (2,652 cases; 92 deaths; 833 recoveries): Burundi (15; 1; 4), Cameroon (1,489; 53; 697), Central African Republic (19; 0; 10), Chad (46; 0; 15), Congo (200; 6; 19), DRC (442; 28; 50), Equatorial Guinea (258; 1; 8), Gabon (176; 3; 30), Sao Tome & Principe (7; 0; 0).

Eastern (3,127; 71; 1,076): Djibouti (1,008; 2; 373), Eritrea (39; 0; 13), Ethiopia (122; 3; 29), Kenya (343; 14; 98), Madagascar (123; 0; 62), Mauritius (331; 9; 295), Rwanda (183; 0; 88), Seychelles (11; 0; 6), Somalia (390; 18; 10), South Sudan (5; 0; 0), Sudan (213; 17; 19), Tanzania (284; 8; 37), Uganda (75; 0; 46).

Northern (12,479; 926; 3,361): Algeria (3,256; 419; 1,479), Egypt (4,319; 307; 1,114), Libya (61; 2; 18), Mauritania (7; 1; 6), Morocco (3,897; 159; 537), Tunisia (939; 38; 207).

Southern (4,698; 100; 1,553): Angola (25; 2; 6), Botswana (22; 1; 0), Eswatini (56; 1; 10), Malawi (33; 3; 4), Mozambique (70; 0; 9),  Namibia (16; 0; 7), South Africa (4,361; 86; 1,473), Zambia (84; 3; 42), Zimbabwe (31; 4; 2).

Western (7,373; 185; 2,283): Benin (54; 1; 27), Burkina Faso (629; 41; 442), Cape Verde (90; 1; 1), Côte d’Ivoire (1,111; 14; 449), Gambia (10; 1; 8), Ghana (1,279; 10; 134), Guinea (996; 7; 208), Guinea-Bissau (52; 0; 3), Liberia (120; 11; 25), Mali (370; 21; 91), Niger (684; 27; 325), Nigeria (1,182; 35; 222), Senegal (614; 7; 276), Sierra Leone (86; 3; 10), Togo (96; 6; 62).

Graphic: Supplied

Some 2.91 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 203,264 have died, according to a Reuters tally,