2 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 reported |16 April 2020
Globally, as of last night when our newspaper went to press, there have been 1,914,916 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 123,010 deaths reported to the World Health Organisation.
Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered coronavirus and it started in Wuhan, China.
According to worldometer, an online database site, there are 2,027,643 registered cases of COVID-19. It is now a reality that cases of COVID-19 are increasing daily. While some countries like us have not registered any cases for at least seven days, others are recording an increase in the number of cases and in the number of deaths also.
African Union: 15,284 COVID-19 cases
From the African Union, as of 9am EAT April 14, 2020, a total of 15,284 COVID-19 cases and 816 (CFR: 5%) deaths had been reported in 52 African countries. Out of 52 member states that have reported cases, six have community transmission, 44 have local transmission and two have imported cases only.
Since the last brief, the number of COVID-19 cases has increased by 52% (5,198 cases). The five countries in Africa with the highest cumulative number of cases (proportion of reported cases in Africa) are South Africa (2,272; 15%), Egypt (2,190; 14%), Algeria (1,914; 13%), Morocco (1,763; 12%) and Cameroon (820; 5%).
When population is taken into consideration, Djibouti (30.2), Mauritius (25.5), Seychelles (11.2), Tunisia (6.1), and Morocco (4.8) are reporting the most cases per 100,000 population within the continent. Fifteen countries are reporting case fatality rates higher than the global case fatality rate of 6%.
Again and again, President Danny Faure, Public Health Commissioner Dr Jude Gedeon and Health Care Agency chief executive Dr Danny Louange have been urging people to adopt proper hygiene and social behaviour so that Seychelles can stop the spread of the virus.
Are we listening? We hope that with the new measures which will come in effect as from Friday will help us understand that social distancing is the key to fight the virus.
To recall, most people infected with COVID-19 experience mild to moderate respiratory illness and recover without requiring special treatment. Older people, and those with underlying medical problems like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic respiratory disease, and cancer are more likely to develop serious illness.
The best way to prevent and slow down transmission is to be well informed about COVID-19, the disease it causes and how it spreads. Protect yourself and others from infection by washing your hands or using an alcohol-based rub frequently and not touching your face.
The COVID-19 virus spreads primarily through droplets of saliva or discharge from the nose when an infected person coughs or sneezes, so it’s important that you also practice respiratory etiquette (for example, by coughing into a flexed elbow).
At this time, there are no specific vaccines or treatments for COVID-19. However, there are many ongoing clinical trials evaluating potential treatments. WHO will continue to provide updated information as soon as clinical findings become available.
Vidya Gappy
Source: World Health Organisation and African Union