DURBAN - Out of the 54 states in Africa, only Lesotho, Sao Tome and Principe, Malawi, Comoros and South Sudan are yet to confirm cases of Covid-19.
Although earlier Lesotho had 10 suspected cases of Covid-19, some tested negative and others have remained unconfirmed.
According to the Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 6000 positive cases have been reported, 505 recoveries and over 220 deaths.
Besides South Africa and Egypt, the countries of Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Burkina Faso, Ghana and Senegal have all reported over 100 cases, mostly imported by visitors from Europe.
Globally, the number of cases now totals 932,605, according to data compiled by U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University. As of Thursday, the outbreak of the virus had been confirmed in around 203 countries or territories. The number of deaths
had totalled 47,264. The most severely affected countries include the U.S., Italy, Spain, and China.
As cases continue to rise in Africa, most countries have imposed lockdowns to help curb the spread of the pandemic.
Ghana and Zimbabwe joined the list of African countries enforcing lockdowns to stem the spread of the coronavirus.
Meanwhile, Rwanda which originally announced an initial two-week lockdown on March 21 which was set to expire in a few days, has extended the lockdown until 19 April.
Although Malawi Is yet to confirm a case, President Peter Mutharika has called for prayers to seek divine intervention over the coronavirus threat. Presidential spokesperson Mgeme Kalilani said the prayers would take place on Thursday and should be held in people’s homes.
South African researchers are preparing to enroll patients from 14 hospitals across the country in a global clinical trial set up by the World Health Organisation. The trials are set to start in two weeks’ time and will compare the safety and effectiveness of four different drugs or drug combinations against Covid-19.
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