{"id":4571,"date":"2022-04-16T10:12:02","date_gmt":"2022-04-16T10:12:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/all-news\/africa-witnesses-longest-running-decline-in-covid-19-cases"},"modified":"2022-04-16T11:13:56","modified_gmt":"2022-04-16T11:13:56","slug":"africa-witnesses-longest-running-decline-in-covid-19-cases","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/all-news\/africa-witnesses-longest-running-decline-in-covid-19-cases","title":{"rendered":"Africa witnesses longest-running decline in COVID-19 cases"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Sierra-Leone. <\/strong><\/span>Africa is experiencing its longest-running decline in COVID-19 infections since the onset of the pandemic, the World Health Organization has said.<\/p>\n

In a statement<\/a> seen by Eye Radio on Thursday, WHO stated that the recorded weekly cases have fallen for the past 16 weeks, while deaths have dropped for the last eight.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Infections\u2014largely due to the Omicron-driven fourth pandemic wave\u2014have tanked from a peak of over 308,000 cases weekly at the start of the year to less than 20,000 in the week ending on 10 April 2022.<\/p>\n

Over the past week, around 18,000 cases and 239 deaths were recorded, a decline of 29% and 37% respectively compared with the week before.<\/p>\n

This low level of infection has not been seen since April 2020 in the early stages of the pandemic in Africa.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Africa\u2019s previous longest decline in COVID-19 infections was between 1 August and 10 October 2021. Currently, no country is witnessing COVID-19 resurgence.<\/p>\n

World Health Organization (WHO) considers that a country is in resurgence when it records a 20% increase in cases in at least two consecutive weeks and that the recorded week-on-week rise is 30% or higher than the highest weekly infection peak previously reached.<\/p>\n

\u201cDespite the decreasing infections, it is crucial that countries remain vigilant and maintain surveillance measures, including genomic surveillance to swiftly detect circulating COVID-19 variants, enhance testing and scale up vaccination,\u201d said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa.<\/p>\n

<\/a>\u201cWith the virus still circulating, the risk of new and potentially more deadly variants emerging remains, and the pandemic control measures are pivotal to effective response to a surge in infections.\u201d<\/p>\n

With the cold season approaching in the southern hemisphere in June through August, there is a high risk of another wave of new infections.<\/p>\n

Africa\u2019s previous pandemic waves have often coincided with lower temperatures when people mostly stay indoors and often in poorly ventilated spaces.<\/p>\n

In addition, new variants can impact the evolution of the pandemic.<\/p>\n

In Botswana and South Africa, researchers are conducting further analysis into new sub-lineages of the Omicron variant recently detected there to determine whether they are more infectious or virulent.<\/p>\n

The BA.4 and BA.5 identified in the two southern African countries have also been confirmed in Belgium, Denmark, Germany and the United Kingdom.<\/p>\n

<\/a>According to WHO, currently there is no significant epidemiological difference observed between the new sub-lineages and known sub-lineages of the Omicron variant, which include BA.1, BA.2 and BA.3 sub-lineages.<\/p>\n

With the receding infections, several African countries are easing key COVID-19 measures such as surveillance and quarantine as well as public health measures including mask-wearing and band on mass gatherings.<\/p>\n

Based on current WHO technical guidelines, the Organization urges countries to weigh the risks and benefits as they relax COVID-19 measures, taking into account the capacity of their health systems, population immunity to COVID-19 and national socioeconomic priorities.<\/p>\n

The WHO report says systems should be in place to quickly reinstate the measures if the epidemiological situation worsens.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Sierra-Leone<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Sierra-Leone. Africa is experiencing its longest-running decline in COVID-19 infections since the onset of the pandemic, the World Health Organization has said. In a statement seen by Eye Radio on Thursday, WHO stated that the recorded weekly cases have fallen for the past 16 weeks, while deaths have dropped for the last eight. 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