Africa’s coronavirus cases exceed 4,700

PRETORIA. KAZINFORM - The number of coronavirus cases in Africa has reached 4,760, 149 patients have died and 335 have recovered, the African Union said on Monday. As many as 46 out of the continent’s 54 countries have reported infection cases so far, according to TASS.

The highest number of patients has been identified in North Africa, where 1,922 people have contracted the virus and 102 have died. In particular, 609 cases and 40 deaths have been recorded in Egypt, 511 cases and 31 deaths in Algeria, 479 cases and 26 deaths in Morocco, 312 cases and eight deaths in Tunisia.

The Republic of South Africa has so far confirmed 1,280 coronavirus cases, two patients have died. As for West Africa, 861 cases and 24 deaths have been identified there, including 222 cases and 12 deaths in Burkina Faso. East Africa has confirmed a total of 374 coronavirus cases and six deaths, while Central Africa has recorded 257 patients and eleven deaths.

African governments continue to step up measures to prevent the virus from spreading. In particular, Zimbabwe imposed a three-week nationwide lockdown on March 30. Nigeria’s president imposed a 14-day quarantine in the country’s three most important regions.

Coronavirus pandemic

In late December 2019, Chinese authorities notified the World Health Organization (WHO) about the outbreak of a previously unknown pneumonia in the city of Wuhan, central China. Since then, cases of the novel coronavirus - named COVID-19 by the WHO - have been reported in more than 160 countries, including Russia.

The WHO on March 11 declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic.