The World Health Organization is warning the coronavirus may be on the verge of ravaging the African continent, causing a possible 10 million severe cases in the coming months. A worst-case scenario projection by the U.N. says 3.3 million people in Africa could die from COVID-19, and 1.2 billion could become infected. Public hospitals across 41 countries reportedly have fewer than 2,000 ventilators, and 10 countries have no ventilators at all. This is the WHO’s director-general.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus: “In the past week there has been a 51% increase in the number of reported cases in my own continent, Africa, and a 60% increase in the number of reported deaths. With the current challenge of obtaining testing kits, it’s likely that the real numbers are higher than reported.”