New Covid-19 infections jumped again in African countries, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo (13%) and Kenya (24%), this past week and there was a 9% average increase in new cases on the continent, Africa CDC director Dr John Nkengasong said on Thursday.
The number of coronavirus infections hit a landmark two million cases on the continent this week, amounting to about 3.6% of those reported globally. The death rate has been fairly stable and by November 15, 48,000 people had died.
The trends among Africa’s most populous countries over the past week are increases in the DRC, Kenya, Egypt (15%), Nigeria 8% and SA (6%). Ethiopia reported an 11% decrease.
Nkengasong said he was excited to share the interim results of a vaccine perception survey conducted in 15 countries including SA, Gabon, Nigeria, the DRC and Cote d’Ivoire.
“We are very excited with what we are seeing. Our analysis of the very early findings from 11 countries shows that 81% of people would accept a vaccine,” he said.
“This is encouraging because we have seen in other countries, especially in the developed world, that [only] 40% to 60% are open to a vaccine.”
The next step would be to break down the general population data to see how willing target groups, such as nurses, would be to receive a vaccine.
Africa would need to vaccinate about 60% of its 1.3 billion people to provide a shield against the pandemic spreading further.
SA has reported more than a third of the Covid-19 infections on the continent, with 38%. Morocco is next with 16%.
The five African countries reporting the highest number of new cases from November 9 to 15 were Morocco, Tunisia, SA, Kenya and Algeria.
While new cases (93,000) reported in the past week have risen by 7% on average, deaths (2,127) have decreased by 3%.
The DRC is reporting a 36% average increase in new deaths, Nigeria is up 33% and Kenya up 29%. SA, however, has a 10% average drop in new deaths, followed by Egypt (-9%) and Ethiopia (-8%).
Nkengasong urged countries to increase their surveillance to respond promptly to new infection hot spots.
Africa has reached its October target of 20 million Covid-19 tests.
“Wearing a mask appropriately and in a sustained manner is as effective as any vaccine which will come into [the] theatre of responses,” he said, while welcoming the latest news that two vaccine candidates are proving to be effective against coronavirus.
"We are imminently edging towards the second wave on the continent and that means we really need to work hard and demonstrate self-accountability to implement public health measures ... the wearing of masks, social distancing and washing of hands.
"We cannot relent. If we relent then all the sacrifices and efforts we have put in for the last 10 months will be wiped away," he said.
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