WHO Head Tells Africa to 'Wake Up' to Coronavirus Threat
The
continent should learn from how the spread of virus has sped up elsewhere,
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.
He
warned that while Africa's confirmed cases were currently low - around 640 -
there was no reason for complacency.
"Africa
should wake up, my continent should wake up," said the Ethiopian, the
WHO's first African head.
Health experts warn
that strained public health systems in Africa could become quickly overwhelmed
if the virus takes hold, especially in overcrowded urban areas.
WHO's recommendation
is actually mass gatherings should be avoided and we should do all we can to
cut it from the bud, expecting that the worst could happen," Mr Tedros
told a news conference in Geneva, where the WHO is based.
In
Africa, 16 people have died from Covid-19, the respiratory illness caused by
coronavirus: six in Egypt, six in Algeria, two in Morocco, one in Sudan and one
in Burkina Faso.
In South Africa, which
has 116 cases, President Cyril Ramaphosa has declared a state of disaster,
restricting travel, closing schools, banning mass gatherings and ordering bars
to close or limit numbers to 50.
Anyone breaking these
stipulations would be subject to a fine, or even imprisonment.
Other African nations have been
imposing similar restrictions:
§
Lagos state, the economic hub of Nigeria, has
banned gatherings of more than 50 people and schools will close from next week
§
Africa's most-populous country, which has eight coronavirus
cases, is also stopping flights from any country where there are more than
1,000 infections from Saturday
§
Algeria, one of the worst-affected
countries in Africa, has closed its borders and stopped flights
§
The president has also banned mass gatherings, which would
affect the weekly big anti-government demonstrations
§
Rwanda, which has 11 patients with
Covid-19, is banning passenger flights after Friday for 30 days
§
Kenya, a deeply religious country like
most on the continent, has suspended worship in some churches and mosques
§
The government also says it will manufacture its own hand
sanitiser and distribute it for free, in a bid to tackle shortages
§
Liberia, which dealt with a deadly Ebola
outbreak several years ago and has two recorded cases of Covid-19, has stopped
issuing passports to stop people travelling and earlier this week banned entry
to those from countries worst affected by the pandemic.
§
The Indian Ocean island of Mauritius has banned
entry to tourists for two weeks - and confirmed its first three cases: two
cruise ships workers and a British tourist.
§
Zambia, with two Covid-19 cases, has
suspended parliament and schools and university will close after Friday.
§
Somalia, with one case, closed its air
space overnight
§
Uganda and Botswana, which
have no cases so far, will close schools from next week.
§
Chad, with no cases, is suspending
all passenger flights and closing some land borders from midnight on Thursday.
FROM .bbc.com/news/world-africa
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