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Africa's CDC urges more COVID-19 tests, masks, as continent's cases top 500,000

Published 09/07/2020, 09:57
Updated 09/07/2020, 10:00

NAIROBI, July 9 (Reuters) - African countries urgently need
to scale up coronavirus testing and the use of face masks, a
regional disease control body said on Thursday, as the epidemic
gains traction across the continent with confirmed cases topping
half a million.
John Nkengasong, head of the Africa Centres for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC), said new cases were up 24% in
Africa in the past week.
"The pandemic is gaining full momentum," he told a virtual
news conference from Addis Ababa.
"We must adopt an aggressive and bold approach:
#maskonallfaces, ramp up Test, Trace, and Treat, strengthen
community response. This will save lives and save (the)
economy," he added on Twitter.
Africa had 512,039 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 11,915
deaths, as of Thursday, data from governments and the World
Health Organization showed.
Five countries account for 71% of infections, Nkengasong
said: Egypt, Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana, and Algeria.
A shortage of reliable data afflicts many African nations,
and some governments have been reluctant to acknowledge
epidemics or to expose crumbling health systems to outside
scrutiny. Other nations are too poor or conflict-ridden to carry
out significant testing. (nL4N2CO37D)
Many have also started gradually easing lockdowns to reopen
hard-hit economies, though governments are conscious that
opening up too quickly could lead to a spike in new cases.

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