according to the figures compiled by AFP on Thursday, some 1 000 054 cases have been registered across the african continent, with at least 21 724 deaths, which represents about 5 % of cases in the world. The cape of the million cases of novel coronavirus passed does, however, not for the time being Africa one of the homes most affected in the world, quite the contrary. Another characteristic : the distribution of cases is very uneven. Only 5 of the 54 African countries comprise 75 % of the cases, according to the Center for disease control of the continent. Information encouraging : the world health Organization (WHO) noted Thursday that several african countries had experienced in recent days, a decrease of approximately 20 % of cases everyday. "We need to observe a little longer before we can say with certainty that it is a trend" that's going to last, said Matshidiso Moeti, director for Africa of WHO. The cases are still increasing in a dozen countries, but this growth is not " exponential ", according to the who, however, stresses that the low level of the number of tests and the lack of material to make them remain " a constant challenge ". Among the countries that report high numbers of cases per one million inhabitants included the South Africa, Djibouti, Gabon, and Cape Verde. Below are the details of the situation in key countries of Africa.
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South Africa : more than half of the confirmed cases on the continent
the most industrialized country in Africa account for more than half of the confirmed cases on the continent, with 538 184 infections. It is the 5th the most affected country in the world, behind the United States, Brazil, India and Russia. The cases identified daily decline slightly, dropping below the bar of 10 000 compared to an average of 12 000 in July. More than 9,000 people have died. "We're not finished yet" with the pandemic, was recognized Tuesday by the minister of Health Zweli Mkwize. He has indicated that his country might " have reached the peak (of the pandemic) by the end of August ", with, however, guard against the risk of a second wave in the case of abandonment too fast of the measures taken to contain the expansion of the virus. South Africa has imposed at the end of march one of the confinements the most stringent in the world, before you soften it. Before the explosion of the contamination, the schools come again to be closed for a month and a night-time curfew has been reinstated. Some 24 000 members of the health personnel in South Africa have been infected by the new coronavirus since the start of the pandemic in march and 181 have died, a figure higher than in most other african countries. South Africa has the best hospitals and health centres of the continent, but WHO has still sent this week 43 experts to "strengthen" the country's response to the pandemic Covid-19.
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Egypt : significant decline in the number of cases daily
Egypt was the first african country to report a case of Covid-19 on 14 February. To this day, he officially declared 95, 000 cases, of which 4 630 fatal, which puts it in 2nd place behind South Africa. The number of cases daily increased from about 1,500 in July to less than 200 this week. On July 18, Jihane al-Assal, who heads the scientific committee against the novel coronavirus, has claimed that his country had " passed the peak of the pandemic ". It was announced last weekend, the phasing out of the hospitals where the sick of the Covid-19 were placed in solitary confinement, adding, however, that the government is "preparing" for a possible 2nd wave of the pandemic. The health system has been severely put under pressure, to the point of being at the edge of " collapse ", according to the union of physicians who reported at least 134 deaths in its ranks. A curfew imposed in march was lifted in June and scheduled flights to domestic and international have resumed on the 1st of July. Tourism, a key sector for Egypt resumes very slowly.
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Nigeria : falling cases everyday, but fear of a 2nd wave
Nearly 45 000 cases were recorded in the most populous country in Africa (200 million inhabitants), of which 927 mortals, placing Nigeria in the 3rd position. The cases from day to day which were 500 to 800 in the last month have fallen to 300 or 400. But the authorities fear a second wave more severe. "A new increase in cases is expected," with the easing of restrictive measures to try to stop the pandemic, said Boss Mustapha, who heads the anti-coronavirus to the presidency. In Lagos, a megalopolis with 20 million residents and the epicenter of the epidemic, these measures are being gradually phased out, as evidenced by the reopening Friday of the churches and mosques. Only 3 000 tests are performed every day in Nigeria, one tenth of those made in South Africa which has a population of only 58 million people.
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Algeria : a worrying situation in spite of the decisions targeted government
For several weeks, Algeria is facing a resurgence of the pandemic : 1 273 deaths and more than 33 626 cases were recorded, with a record of 675 cases on the 24th of July. After the first measurements of déconfinement part at the beginning of June, the country has experienced an upsurge in cases. On 29 June, the government has opted for a containment "targeted" communities and neighborhoods in the throes of foci of Covid-19. It has also decided to keep its borders closed. The Algerians have spent a feast of the Aïd-el-Adha sluggish in confinement. The authorities called to avoid family visits, and it is forbidden to leave or travel to 29 of the 48 wilayas (prefectures) of the country. The spread of the pandemic has caused a great harm to the economy of the country, but also the collapse of oil prices. Many merchants, including restaurateurs, café owners and / or owners of travel agencies are likely to file for bankruptcy.
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Ethiopia : a significant increase of cases with Addis Ababa as the main focus
In less than three weeks in July, the number of cases has increased considerably in Ethiopia and Thursday, this country of some 110 million people reported more than 20 000 cases and more than 365 dead. If these figures remain low compared to the number of inhabitants, WHO feared that the recent riots and protests related to the murder of a popular singer belonging to the largest ethnic group of the oromo accelerate the transmission of the virus, strict measures to counter it are no longer also be well-applied as before. About three-quarters of cases are in the capital, Addis Ababa.
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Zimbabwe : alarming explosion of cases in a climate of distrust of the medical profession
This is one of the countries of Africa where infections daily climbing most : the number of cases has doubled in the last ten days the last month and is now 4 200, of which 81 were fatal. With a health system that is slowly collapsing and fights against the lack of drugs and equipment, staff underpaid and overworked, the situation in Zimbabwe is particularly precarious. The nurses, who are observing a go-slow for months to demand higher wages and be better protected against the virus, have been joined by the doctors. At the funeral of one of his ministers death of the Covid-19, president Emmerson Mnanagwa has asked the health staff to act with responsibility, promising that he would respond to her requests, but not at the price of loss of life ". "When the pandemic spreads and the death toll increases, there are no winners, no. We all die ", he said.
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These emblematic cases show that, like other countries in the world, those on the african continent and refine their approach to the pandemic in order to contain it while trying to improve their means of treatment while waiting for a vaccine which nobody can say today of a clear and precise manner the duration of efficacy.
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