Africa readies for coronavirus as Senegal and Morocco confirm first cases
- Continent of 1.2 billion people also has confirmed infections in Egypt, Nigeria, Tunisia and Algeria
- WHO has identified 13 of Africa’s 54 countries as at risk of becoming centres for disease based on volume of traffic with China and weak health systems
Across Africa, steps are being taken to prepare for – and to reduce the effects of – the spread of the new coronavirus. Testing laboratories are being supplied, quarantine and hospital treatment facilities are being readied for patients, and public health advisories have been issued.
As of Monday, the continent of 1.2 billion people has at least 11 confirmed cases of Covid-19 – five in Algeria, two in Egypt, one in Tunisia, one in Nigeria, one in Senegal and one in Morocco.
The case in Senegal was a French citizen who lives in Senegal and who had recently returned from France. The patient in Morocco is a Moroccan man living in Italy, who is currently in non-critical condition in a hospital in Casablanca.
Thirteen of Africa’s 54 countries have been identified by the World Health Organisation as at risk of becoming centres for the disease on the basis of volume of traffic between China and weak health surveillance and treatment systems.
Nigeria on Friday became the first country in Sub-Saharan Africa to report a confirmed case when an Italian citizen travelling from Milan on a business trip fell ill after arriving at Lagos, Nigeria’s largest city with 20 million people.
With the case in Nigeria, concern has grown over the virus spreading to countries with weaker health systems. WHO officials in Africa, where some countries are already battling outbreaks ranging from Ebola to malaria and measles, have warned that the continent’s health systems could be overwhelmed.