COVID-19 cases surpass 1 million worldwide |04 April 2020
The number of coronavirus (COVID-19) cases has now surpassed 1 million, a mere couple of days after director-general of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said officials are deeply concerned about the rapid escalation and global spread of the outbreak, projecting global infections will eclipse 1 million with 50,000 deaths in a few days.
During a news briefing at the organisation’s Geneva headquarters on Wednesday (April 1), Dr Ghebreyesus made note of the exponential growth in the number of new cases, reaching almost every country, territory and area over the past five weeks, while WHO’s technical lead on the outbreak, Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, said “COVID-19 is a real threat. It is a real threat to everyone on the planet”.
Indeed, over the past few days, the number of new cases in the United States (US), Italy and Spain has skyrocketed, driving the outbreak to alarming new heights, even as the recovery rate steadily increases to over 200,000 globally.
As of yesterday afternoon, the total number of cases around the world was nearing 1.1 million with the US, Spain and Italy recording the majority of cases and remaining as the hotspots. The number of confirmed deaths has also exceeded 54,000, with deaths in excess of 13,000 recorded in Italy, according to the John Hopkins University dashboard.
Thus far, 204 countries have been gripped by the savaging pandemic, which is fast claiming lives, overwhelming local healthcare systems and wreaking havoc on the global economy. Despite efforts to impose travel bans, lockdowns and other precautionary measures in a bid to flatten the curve, measures seem to be working slowly, as the case count has continued to rise.
The Indian Ocean region has not been spared from the spread of the novel virus, which emerged three months ago in the Chinese province of Wuhan and which was officially declared a pandemic by WHO on March 11.
Reunion Island, a French Department with a population of 859,959 is so far the most affected in the region with over 300 cases yesterday while neighbouring Mauritius has thus far recorded 168 cases with 7 deaths. The second French Department in the region, Mayotte has also been hard-hit with 116 confirmed cases and 1 death, although 10 persons have been confirmed recovered.
The majority of cases in the region are still active as patients are yet to be recorded as recovered, except in Mayotte and Reunion, where 40 are reported recovered.
As for Madagascar, an island country with a population exceeding 25 million, 59 cases have been confirmed thus far, since the first cases were recorded and a lockdown imposed on March 23.
The number of confirmed cases on the African continent, although relatively low as compared to Europe and other parts of the world continues to increase rapidly. By March 31, at least 46 of the 54 African countries reported cases, with South Africa accounting for a third of them all. As of yesterday, the statistics had dramatically changed with 50 countries recording positive cases. Of the 54 countries, Lesotho, South Sudan, Comoros and Sao Tome and Principe are yet to record any cases, although there are concerns that the low-case numbers could be reflective of low testing capacity and that millions could succumb to the disease.
South Africa remains the most affected with 1462 total confirmed cases as of yesterday afternoon, with Algeria at 986 and Egypt at 865 cases. The total number of cases yesterday stood at 7,080, a considerable increase from just one day prior when the total was just over 6000.
In a communiqué issued by WHO on Thursday, WHO regional director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti, expressed worries about exponentially increasing case numbers on the continent, noting:
“It took 16 days from the first confirmed case in the region to reach 100 cases. It took a further 10 days to reach the first thousand. Three days after this, there were 2000 cases, and two days later we were at 3000.”
Infections are not only spreading between neighbouring countries on the continent but also within different localities within the countries hardest-hit. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the first COVID-19 cases were confined to Kinshasa, but now a handful of cases have been reported in the easternmost regions of the country that were until recently in the grip of an Ebola outbreak. In South Africa, all provinces have now reported cases and the outbreaks in Burkina Faso, Cameroon and Senegal are also widespread.
As governments scrabble to introduce precautionary measures at national level against the propagation of the virus, WHO on March 31, issued an advisory warning of falsified medical products, including in vitro diagnostics that claim to prevent, detect, treat or cure COVID-19.
“The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic (caused by the virus SARS-CoV-2) has increased demand for medicines, vaccines, diagnostics and reagents, all related to COVID-19, creating an opportunity for ill-intended persons to distribute falsified medical products. Due diligence is required from all actors in the procurement, use and administration of medical products, in particular those affected by the current crisis of, or related to, COVID-19.
At this stage, WHO does not recommend any medicines to treat or cure COVID-19. However, the SOLIDARITY trial, led by WHO, is reviewing potential treatments for COVID-19”, the advisory reads.
Laura Pillay