AU warns health systems will buckle if Covid cases surge like in India
The African Union disease control agency is warning countries across the continent against letting their guards down on maintaining Covid-19 preventive measures.
Referring to the deadly Covid-19 wave battering India currently, John Nkengasong, the head of the Africa Center for Disease Control and Prevention said: “African nations do not have sufficient numbers of health care workers, hospital beds, oxygen supplies and the continent would be even more overwhelmed than India if cases surge in a similar way.”
Mr Nkengasong urged African governments to enforce observance of Covid-19 curbs such as the wearing of masks, washing hands with soap and a ban on crowds, warning that the continent has a fragile health system.
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“We are watching with total disbelief. What is happening in India cannot be ignored by our continent,” he said.
According to the latest AU data, Africa’s infection rate has, however, declined to eight per cent this week, with the continent recording nearly 76,000 new Covid-19 infections in the week to April 25.
The situation in India is not getting any better as the second wave of the virus continues ravaging the Asian sub-continent.
On Thursday, April 29, India’s Covid-19 cases surged past 18 million, another record breaking number after 379,257 more people got infected, with 3,645 people succumbing to the disease in 24 hours. The total fatalities are over 200,000.
In Uganda, the country’s Health Ministry on Thursday, April 29, through a Twitter post said that it has detected the Covid-19 variant from India.
The ministry has urged his people to take preventive measures so as not to take chances.
Meanwhile, Kenya has recorded a total of 495 positive cases from a sample size of 4,929, registering a 10 per cent Coronavirus positivity rate in the last 24 hours. The cumulative positive cases now stand at 158,821.
The Ministry of Health also reported 19 deaths, six of which were late fatality reports while 13 are deaths that occurred on diverse dates in the last month. The total fatalities now stand at 2,707.
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Impressively, the overall number of recoveries has risen to 108,124 after 242 more patients recovered from the virus in the last 24 hours.
However, 1,250 people are currently admitted in various health facilities across the country with 191 in the ICU.
On vaccination campaign, about 865,000 people have so far received their first dose of the jab in Kenya. Health CS Mutahi Kagwe said that Kenya is scouting for local solutions in medical supplies given that the situation in other countries such as India is worsening hence no guarantee of reliable help on vaccine supplies.
