Coronavirus in sub-Saharan Africa: A week in review

March 7

Senegal, with four confirmed cases, is the worst affected in the region to date. 

Nigeria was swift and transparent in sharing the COVID-19 sequence from its first case, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says on Twitter. “This is a true act of solidarity and an important step in stopping the #coronavirus from spreading.”
Read more: Coronavirus: How can I protect myself from infection?

March 6

Togo confirms its first case. The 42-year-old Lome resident tested positive the previous day. She had returned from on a trip to Benin, Germany, France and Turkey. The presidency says she is in isolation at a treatment center and all people she had contact with “have been identified and put in quarantine”.

Cameroon confirms its first two cases. The minister of public health says a Cameroonian citizen who had close contact with a French man, the first person to be diagnosed with COVID-19. Both are in isolation in Yaounde Central Hospital.

Democratic Republic of Congo is still fighting the world’s worst measles outbreak, AFP reports. More than 6,000 people have died of the highly contagious but preventable disease in the remote west of the country. 

The Italian man who was confirmed to be Nigeria’s first coronavirus case traveled through Lagos before he was diagnosed and isolated

Uganda: The United Nations cancels Africa Climate Week, regional conference due to be held in the east. The world body notes that Uganda’s health ministry has put in place measures for people arriving from affected and showing symptoms to be placed in quarantine at state hospitals.

Nigeria: The WHO and the government in Abuja sayin the seven days since Africa’s most populous country reported its first case, no new cases have been reported. Health Minister Osagie Ehanire says 61 people who had contact with the one confirmed COVID-19 case were monitored since the first confirmed case on February 27. 

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) says it plans to boost its spending to prevent a spread. The transport minister meanwhile says the completion of the Lagos-to-Ibadan railway project has been delayed because Chinese workers had not returned to the country due to the coronavirus. 

Ghana: President Nana Akufo-Addo say strict checks and screening procedures are being carried out at points of entry to Ghana. He also urges Ghanaians to stop shaking hands and cover their mouths when they sneeze or cough. The country’s Catholic bishops outlaws handshakes and communion taken by mouth. 

South Africa prepares a specially-equipped military plane that will collect 184 of its nationals stranded in Wuhan, China.The health minister says those returning home do not have coronavirus, he says. According to media reports, some military personnel had declined to take part in the repatriation out of fear.

Read more: Coronavirus vaccine — a race against time

March  5 

South Africa confirms a first case. The 38-year-old man tested positive after a trip to Italy with his wife on March 1,  the health ministry says. The man is self-isolating in the KwaZulu-Natal Province in the east of the country, to which a a tracer team has been deployed.

Senegal confirms a second case. The 80-year-old Frenchman is in a stable condition in quarantine at the infectious diseases section of Fann Hospital in Dakar. The health ministry says that in the first case, a 33-year-old Frenchman, remains in quarantine.

Ghana: As many as 40 suspected coronavirus cases test negative. Health Minister Kwaku Agyeman-Manu says Ghana is relying on expert advice rather than a common-sense approach.

Africa and parts of the Middle East risks “absolute devastation” if wealthier nations facing an economic downturn linked to coronavirus don’t step up aid, UN World Food Program head David Beasley says.

Coronavirus researchers at the Pasteur Institute in Senegal, the country with the highest number of reported cases

March 4

Senegal confirms two more cases, raising to four the total. The 33-year-old British woman arrived in the country on February 24, the health ministry says. She is in a stable condition at a hospital in Dakar.

Nigerian lawmakers vote to close Parliment for two weeks, saying could not continue working while unsure of the safety of their constituents.

Zimbabwe bans civil servants from foreign travel President Emmerson Mnangagwa also urges citizens to restrict their trips, in order to minimise the risk of exposure to COVID-19.

Kenya says it set up 100 hospital beds in preparation. Health Minister Mutahi Kagwa says Kenya is prepared, having deployed more than 1,000 health workers to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and other areas. The government bans international meetings and events for 30 days.

The Tanzania Football Federation asks players not to shake hands at matches, media reports say. 

Italy has been Europe’s hardest-hit country, with more than 4,500 COVID-19 infections and close to 200 deaths

March 3

Democratic Republic of Congo celebrates a key moment in the second-biggest Ebola epidemic ever recorded: The last patient is discharged from a treatment center in the north-eastern city of Beni. It is the first time there have been no active cases since the outbreak was declared in August 2018. The virus has killed 2,264 people.The epidemic will only be declared over if no new cases are reported in 42 days.

Uganda says it will roll out injectable HIV treatment next year. The new treatment will reduce the burden of taking tablets daily and most likely help to bring down the number of new infections. In 2018, an estimated 1.4 million Ugandans were living with HIV, and about 23,000 died of AIDS-related illnesses, according to HIV and AIDS education organization Avert. 

March 2

Senegal confirms its first case.

Tanzania’s President John Magufuli avoids shaking hands with guests arriving at State House. A Kenyan newspaper publishes a picture of the leader doing a playful footshake with a guest. 

Zambia is one of several African countries with close ties to China, where the coronavirus was first detected

March 1

Nigeria vows to beef up its securty after its first case is confirmed. “We have already started working to identify all the contacts of the patient since he entered Nigeria,” Health Minister Osagie Ehanire says. The level of preparedness continues to improve of Nigeria every day.”

Article source: https://www.dw.com/en/coronavirus-in-sub-saharan-africa-a-week-in-review/a-52675944?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf