Africa must prepare for second COVID wave, disease control group says

By Giulia Paravicini and Duncan Miriri
ADDIS ABABA/NAIROBI, Oct 29 (Reuters) - COVID-19 cases are
accelerating in some parts of Africa and governments should step
up preparations for a second wave, the Africa Centres for
Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday.
Over the past four week, cases have increased by 45% per
week on average in Kenya, by 19% in Democratic Republic of Congo
and by 8% in Egypt, the African Union-run organisation's head
John Nkengasong said.
"The time to prepare for a second wave is truly now," he
said, urging governments "not to get into prevention fatigue
mode."
The continent of 1.3 billion people has so far managed
better than widely expected in terms of containing the epidemic,
with a lower percentage of deaths than other regions, partly due
to strict lockdown measures imposed in March.
There have been 41,776 deaths among the 1.74 million people
reported infected with the virus, according to a Reuters tally
based on official data as of Thursday morning.
Beginning in August, many governments eased restrictions,
however, and a trend of decreasing cases has flattened,
Matshidiso Moeti, Africa director for the WHO said in an online
press conference on Thursday.
In Kenya, the government allowed bars to reopen on Sept. 28
and cut the nightly curfew by two hours. Schools partially
reopened on Oct. 12.
Some easing was justified to help economies in the region to
start recovering, Moeti said.
However, "we will need to be dealing with some of these
upticks. What is important is to contain them."
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta on Wednesday announced a Nov
4 summit to review the surge in infections, and urged Kenyans to
wear face masks properly and practice social distancing to avoid
"losing hard-fought for ground" in the fight against the
disease.