Recent surge in Africa’s COVID-19 cases ‘worrying’ – WHO

• Posted on June 30, 2021June 30, 2021
• by Nana Kwesi Coomson
• Comment

The World Health Organisation, (WHO) is warning African countries to put in place adequate measures to minimise the causalities that may result from the third wave of COVID-19 infections.

A number of African countries have seen a spike in their COVID-19 cases following the emergence of the deadly Delta Variant on the continent.

The WHO’s African Regional Director, Matshidiso Moeti, says the situation is worrying.

According to her, the latest surge threatens to be Africa’s worst since the pandemic began.

“The third wave is picking up speed, spreading faster, and hitting harder. We’ve surged past last year’s peak and at the current pace, the continental cases will surpass the second wave’s peak in just about three weeks. This is incredibly worrying, and with rapidly rising case numbers and an increase in reports of serious illnesses, the latest surge threatens to be Africa’s worst yet.”

Ghana recently detected the highly transmissible strain of COVID-19 which originated from India, Delta variant.

This was confirmed by the Head of the West Africa Centre for Cell Biology and Infectious Pathogens  (WACCBIP) at the University of Ghana, Professor Gordon Awendare.

He said the variant was detected in two travellers who arrived in Ghana.

“We are saying that in Ghana we have had a few of them [Delta variant] detected, but in travellers who arrived from different countries.  This was noticed about a week or two ago; two people so far who were quarantined.”

Meanwhile, the country’s inoculation exercise has been hard hit, with the difficulties in accessing vaccines on the market.