WHO report sharp increase in virus cases in Africa

The World Health Organization announced on Friday there had been a 51 per cent increase in reported coronavirus cases in Africa, whilst reported deaths on the continent were up by 60 per cent.

Speaking at a conference in Geneva Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of WHO, warned the figures for Africa could be higher due to the challenges countries were facing in obtaining tests for the virus.

Ghebreyesus also addressed concerns around wet markets, the markets across Asia where live animals and wildlife are often sold for food.

Although the origin of COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus, has not yet been identified, many scientists suspect the virus jumped to humans from animals at a wet market in Wuhan, China.

Ghebreyesus said the markets were “an important source for food and livelihoods for millions” but recommended they were only reopened “on the condition that they conform to stringent food safety and hygiene standards.”

The technical lead of WHO's Health Emergencies Programme, Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, also noted that China had updated their coronavirus figures.

She said the country had reported new figures overnight which had added an additional 325 cases and 1,290 deaths from Wuhan.

Van Kerkhove said China had reported the new figures "in an attempt to leave no cases undocumented," and added: "They looked at funerals, their funeral service systems. They looked at hospital systems. They looked at laboratories to see if there were any duplications or if there were any cases missing."

Meanwhile Dr. Michael Ryan,  WHO's Health Emergencies Programme Executive Director, urged countries to provide their coronavirus data as quickly as possible to help move efforts forwards to control the pandemic.

He also warned current data suggested that it was unlikely that herd immunity against the virus had been achieved.

"A lot of the preliminary information that's coming to us right now would suggest that quite a low proportion of the population have actually seroconverted, so it may not solve the problem," he said.

For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks.

For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death.

(Image Credit: AP)