Nearly a quarter of a billion Africans will catch coronavirus during the first year of the pandemic, and up to 190,000 will die unless urgent action is taken to control the infection.
A model by the World Health Organisation Africa office, published on Friday in the British Medical Journal Global Health, predicts a lower rate of exposure and viral spread than in other parts of the world, and up to 190,000 deaths.
The model says larger countries, including SA, Cameroon, and Algeria, are most at risk, while Nigeria is expected to have the largest number of infections overall, followed by Algeria and SA. “We tried to factor in what we are seeing on the ground, and we are seeing slower transmission rates in African countries compared to Europe and the US.”
The increase in hospital admissions and care needs would divert already limited resources away from HIV, tuberculosis, malaria and malnutrition, worsening the impact of coronavirus, the researchers warned.
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