{"id":953,"date":"2020-12-20T21:49:09","date_gmt":"2020-12-20T21:49:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.com\/uganda\/?p=953"},"modified":"2020-12-20T21:49:09","modified_gmt":"2020-12-20T21:49:09","slug":"africa-confronts-a-second-wave-of-covid-19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/africa-confronts-a-second-wave-of-covid-19","title":{"rendered":"Africa confronts a second wave of Covid-19"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press<\/a> – Uganda<\/a>. <\/strong><\/span>After being relatively spared by Coronavirus, Africa is bracing for the pandemic’s second wave, noting how the microbe has once more cut a swathe through rich countries in Europe and North Africa.<\/p>\n

The continent’s most-hit nations are again having to contemplate stringent public health measures as they await the arrival of the vaccine cavalry.<\/p>\n

In South Africa, the start of summer has triggered traffic jams on roads leading to coastal resorts.<\/p>\n

But this year, there will be no long, lazy days spent on the beach.<\/p>\n

In popular tourist destinations, the coronavirus is spreading at alarming speed. Authorities have ordered partial closures, limits on the size of gatherings and an extended curfew.<\/p>\n

As the African country worst hit in the pandemic, with almost 900,000 documented cases, South Africa is tightening up health restrictions.<\/p>\n

But around Africa, a continent of more than 1.2 billion people, there are stark contrasts in the prevalence of the disease.<\/p>\n

New cases are emerging in East Africa, in northern and southern Africa, but the trend in West Africa is a decline, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), an arm of the African Union.<\/p>\n

Rising cases in the east<\/b><\/p>\n

In Uganda, every region has been affected by the pandemic. Neighbouring Rwanda, a far smaller but densely populated country, registered almost as many new cases in December (722) as since the beginning of infection (797).<\/p>\n

Bars and nightclubs have been shut since March. Heavily fined for breaking regulations, the owner of a Kigali bar told AFP he had lost everything. “Clients were drinking, but the police forced us to close.”<\/p>\n

In Kenya, a second wave of the virus struck in September and led to the closure of schools and the prolongation of a curfew. Some health professionals say they are already waiting for a third wave.<\/p>\n

For several weeks, Africa CDC and the World Health Organization (WHO) have been pressing African governments to up their game for an inevitable second wave.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, the epidemic first reported in Africa nine months ago has not been as destructive as experts feared, across a poor continent severely lacking in health care structures.<\/p>\n

Africa has reported 2.4 million cases, just 3.6 percent of the world’s total, according to a tally compiled by AFP.<\/p>\n

The whole continent has registered more than 57,000 deaths, fewer for instance than the total for France alone (59,072).<\/p>\n

While the low level of screening might call into question the reliability of the statistics, no African country has observed a peak in excess mortality, which would be a sign of the virus spreading under the radar.<\/p>\n

Experts are still trying to understand why Africa, so far, has not been affected to the same extent as other continents.<\/p>\n

Explanations include Africa’s youthful population, cross-immunity derived from previous epidemics and a still predominantly rural economy, which means less density of population.<\/p>\n

Economic hit<\/b><\/p>\n

Early and draconian measures imposed on citizens in most African countries clearly put the brakes on the spread of the disease.<\/p>\n

But the social and economic consequences of lockdown policies have been disastrous for the weakest economies.<\/p>\n

In nations where the stigma of Covid-19 has become less visible, daily life has rushed to resume its course, largely at the expense of social distancing and other barrier gestures.<\/p>\n

In central Africa, Cameroon is preparing to host the 2020 African Nations Championship football tournament in January, postponed from last April because of the virus. Officials are counting on a partial reopening of stadiums.<\/p>\n

Authorities in Senegal face calls for public protests against restrictions, while in Equatorial Guinea, nightclubs are the only places that remain closed.<\/p>\n

“Generally speaking, the virus is continuing to progress in Africa,” warned Isabelle Defourny, operations director at Medecins sans frontieres (Doctors Without Borders, MSF).<\/p>\n

MSF has noted a resurgence of Covid-19 both in capital cities and in rural areas, notably in Chad.<\/p>\n

“We’re also seeing an increase in severe cases where oxygen is needed, particularly in Bamako (Mali), which was not the case during the first wave,” Defourny said.<\/p>\n

The battle Africa must wage for access to vaccines is far from won. The likely cost will be a around 4.7 billion euros ($5.76 billion), but only a quarter of the nations on the continent can muster the required resources, according to the WHO.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Uganda. After being relatively spared by Coronavirus, Africa is bracing for the pandemic’s second wave, noting how the microbe has once more cut a swathe through rich countries in Europe and North Africa. 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