While most cases of the COVID-19 coronavirus have been reported in the U.S. , Europe, and China, the virus is spreading rapidly across the African continent. 



The confirmed worldwide cases for the virus have surpassed 200 million with the current figure being at 222,262,640



The death toll continues to rise globally now surpassing 4 million. It is currently at 4,593,598.



The world is currently dealing with a new variant of the virus known as the &#8216;Delta Variant&#8217;. The variant is known to be in over 85 countries globally. 



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">Africa has just marked the continent’s most dire pandemic week ever. But the worst is yet to come as the fast-moving third wave continues to gain speed and new ground. The end to this precipitous rise is still weeks away. Cases are doubling now every 18 days, compared with every 21 days only a week ago. We can still break the chain of transmission by testing, isolating contacts and cases and following key public health measures.” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Africa on July 8 2021</blockquote>



The U.S. leads with 666,627 deaths. Brazil comes second with 583,866. India&#8217;s deaths are at 441,433; Mexico is with 263,470 deaths, and Peru is with 198,523.



China, where the virus originated from, maintains that the country&#8217;s death toll is at 4,634.



The figure of the global recoveries stands at 198,882,734.



The African continent now has a total figure of 8,003,746 confirmed cases of Covid-19, while the death toll stands at 200,275. The continent has made 7,162,070 recoveries. 



World Health Organization Regional Director for Africa Matshidiso Moeti said in an online briefing Thursday (1 July) that &#8220;The speed and scale of Africa’s third wave are like nothing we’ve seen before.&#8221; 



&#8220;The continent is on the verge of exceeding its worst week ever in this pandemic,&#8221; Moeti said



Here are the country-wide numbers for Africa:



<figure id="main_table_countries_today" class="wp-block-table"><table><thead><tr><th>Country</th><th>Total Cases</th><th>Total Deaths</th><th>Total Recovered</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Africa</td><td>8,003,746</td><td>200,275</td><td>7,162,070</td></tr><tr><td>Algeria</td><td>198,313</td><td>5,445</td><td>135,232</td></tr><tr><td>Angola</td><td>48,790</td><td>1,282</td><td>44,054</td></tr><tr><td>Benin</td><td>16,946</td><td>135</td><td>11,890</td></tr><tr><td>Botswana</td><td>162,186</td><td>2,309</td><td>155,403</td></tr><tr><td>Burkina Faso</td><td>13,851</td><td>171</td><td>13,575</td></tr><tr><td>Burundi</td><td>12,585</td><td>38</td><td>773</td></tr><tr><td>Cabo Verde</td><td>36,012</td><td>316</td><td>34,725</td></tr><tr><td>Cameroon</td><td>84,210</td><td>1,357</td><td>80,433</td></tr><tr><td>CAR</td><td>11,296</td><td>100</td><td>6,859</td></tr><tr><td>Chad</td><td>4,996</td><td>174</td><td>4,816</td></tr><tr><td>Comoros</td><td>4,086</td><td>147</td><td>3,909</td></tr><tr><td>Congo</td><td>13,588</td><td>183</td><td>12,421</td></tr><tr><td>Djibouti</td><td>11,785</td><td>157</td><td>11,592</td></tr><tr><td>DRC</td><td>55,307</td><td>1,061</td><td>30,858</td></tr><tr><td>Egypt</td><td>290,395</td><td>16,801</td><td>242,623</td></tr><tr><td>Equatorial Guinea</td><td>9,939</td><td>129</td><td>8,971</td></tr><tr><td>Eritrea</td><td>6,648</td><td>38</td><td>6,601</td></tr><tr><td>Eswatini</td><td>44,234</td><td>1,156</td><td>38,871</td></tr><tr><td>Ethiopia</td><td>316,174</td><td>4,785</td><td>284,895</td></tr><tr><td>Gabon</td><td>26,177</td><td>168</td><td>25,775</td></tr><tr><td>Gambia</td><td>9,789</td><td>328</td><td>9,379</td></tr><tr><td>Ghana</td><td>121,307</td><td>1,069</td><td>113,267</td></tr><tr><td>Guinea</td><td>29,877</td><td>358</td><td>27,742</td></tr><tr><td>Guinea-Bissau</td><td>5,902</td><td>121</td><td>4,967</td></tr><tr><td>Ivory Coast</td><td>57,056</td><td>477</td><td>54,804</td></tr><tr><td>Kenya</td><td>241,134</td><td>4,800</td><td>229,762</td></tr><tr><td>Lesotho</td><td>14,395</td><td>403</td><td>6,830</td></tr><tr><td>Liberia</td><td>5,459</td><td>148</td><td>2,715</td></tr><tr><td>Libya</td><td>318,069</td><td>4,363</td><td>230,995</td></tr><tr><td>Madagascar</td><td>42,884</td><td>957</td><td>41,311</td></tr><tr><td>Malawi</td><td>60,852</td><td>2,217</td><td>49,374</td></tr><tr><td>Mali</td><td>14,942</td><td>542</td><td>14,135</td></tr><tr><td>Mauritania</td><td>34,297</td><td>737</td><td>31,832</td></tr><tr><td>Mauritius</td><td>11,466</td><td>32</td><td>1,854</td></tr><tr><td>Mayotte</td><td>19,925</td><td>175</td><td>2,964</td></tr><tr><td>Morocco</td><td>886,008</td><td>13,145</td><td>828,148</td></tr><tr><td>Mozambique</td><td>148,054</td><td>1,881</td><td>137,891</td></tr><tr><td>Namibia</td><td>125,772</td><td>3,414</td><td>120,812</td></tr><tr><td>Niger</td><td>5,888</td><td>199</td><td>5,624</td></tr><tr><td>Nigeria</td><td>195,890</td><td>2,556</td><td>184,882</td></tr><tr><td>Rwanda</td><td>90,145</td><td>1,134</td><td>45,362</td></tr><tr><td>Réunion</td><td>50,346</td><td>342</td><td>47,752</td></tr><tr><td>Saint Helena</td><td>2</td><td></td><td>2</td></tr><tr><td>Sao Tome and Principe</td><td>2,692</td><td>37</td><td>2,461</td></tr><tr><td>Senegal</td><td>73,257</td><td>1,812</td><td>64,582</td></tr><tr><td>Seychelles</td><td>20,323</td><td>108</td><td>19,767</td></tr><tr><td>Sierra Leone</td><td>6,374</td><td>121</td><td>4,364</td></tr><tr><td>Somalia</td><td>17,947</td><td>1,005</td><td>8,896</td></tr><tr><td>South Africa</td><td>2,824,063</td><td>83,617</td><td>2,599,667</td></tr><tr><td>South Sudan</td><td>11,526</td><td>120</td><td>11,195</td></tr><tr><td>Sudan</td><td>37,715</td><td>2,837</td><td>31,675</td></tr><tr><td>Tanzania</td><td>1,367</td><td>50</td><td>183</td></tr><tr><td>Togo</td><td>22,625</td><td>197</td><td>17,669</td></tr><tr><td>Tunisia</td><td>675,191</td><td>23,846</td><td>639,708</td></tr><tr><td>Uganda</td><td>120,714</td><td>3,061</td><td>95,679</td></tr><tr><td>Western Sahara</td><td>10</td><td>1</td><td>8</td></tr><tr><td>Zambia</td><td>207,294</td><td>3,620</td><td>202,500</td></tr><tr><td>Zimbabwe</td><td>125,671</td><td>4,493</td><td>117,036</td></tr></tbody></table><figcaption><a href="https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/">Data From World O Meter</a></figcaption></figure>



Note: The numbers will be updated as new information is available.

South African truck drivers receive COVID-19 vaccine

[IN NUMBERS] Coronavirus Update: COVID-19 In Africa

With Covid-19 infections spiking rapidly in South Africa and heading for a fierce pandemic peak, it’s a tough winter ahead. Will the new tightened restrictions help quell the wave?



South Africa’s third wave of Covid-19 infections, which the president Cyril Ramaphosa called “devastating” in a nationwide address on June 27, has been attributed to the highly-contagious Delta variant.



With private and public health facilities in some provinces already reportedly overwhelmed and at capacity with the heavy new caseload, the South African government has urged citizens to take increased precautions amid tighter regulations and a reversal to lockdown alert level 4 announced by the president last night.



<figure class="wp-block-pullquote is-style-solid-color"><blockquote>“The death rate is very likely to be two or even three times higher than the last wave.” &#8211;Professor François Venter, Director of Ezintsha and Deputy Executive Director of Wits RHI</blockquote></figure>



“We need to take extra precautions. As of today, the seven-day average of new daily cases nationally has overtaken the peak of the first wave in July last year, and will soon overtake the peak of the second wave we experienced in January this year,” said Ramaphosa, as he announced the move to adjusted restrictions, which includes an expanded curfew, the prohibition of gatherings, the closing of gyms and sit-down eateries, as well as stopping the sale of alcohol.



While efforts to hamper the spread of the virus have some efficacy, members of the medical fraternity, including members of the government’s own Ministerial Advisory Committee (MAC), have been critical of what they think has been slow action.



“Government did not properly prepare – as a province, we thought that it the third wave wouldn’t be as brutal as the first or second,” says co-chair of the MAC, Professor Koleka Mlisana, to FORBES AFRICA. “The province should not have closed quarantine facilities after infections of the second wave seemed to be decreasing, that’s where we dropped the ball. When the third wave infections picked up, we were playing catch-up, worsened by one of our major academic hospitals was offline.”



Indeed, the Gauteng province, the country’s commercial heart, is the hardest hit in South Africa, with the seven-day moving average cases fast approaching 10,000.



“We are seeing Gauteng in particular being hammered, with infection rates higher than any other province, almost by a factor of two,” says Professor François Venter, Director of Ezintsha and Deputy Executive Director of Wits RHI (reproductive health and HIV Institute at the University of the Witwatersrand), in an interview with FORBES AFRICA.



“This is the worst, most severe health crisis we have ever faced. In July, Gauteng might look like India during their peak.”



Many of the additional health infrastructure and medical care capacity created during and for the first and second waves of the pandemic were decommissioned late last year, and not reopened in preparation for the third wave, he adds.



To bolster additional capacity, the Nasrec quarantine facility is now being reactivated.



“What we were so scared of during the hard lockdowns of May and July [last year] – that’s what we are seeing now,” continues Venter. “The death rate is very likely to be two or even three times higher than the last wave.”



The surge in cases has already taken its toll on already strained healthcare infrastructure in both state and private facilities, with many hospitals reporting that they are at ICU capacity, even as the peak of the third wave has reportedly not yet been reached.



While the provincial government has committed to the hiring of new staff and expansion of existing facilities this week, it may be too late, for many patients and personnel attempting to save lives, say frontline staff.



“Our staff shortages are constant. We are often over [patient] capacity and are not always able to admit sick Covid-positive patients to our wards because of a lack of space,” says one state doctor who wished to be unnamed.



On the vaccine front, the president announced yesterday that 2.7 million people had received a single vaccine dose countrywide, with the daily vaccination rate exceeding 100,000 – with 1.2 million new Johnson &amp; Johnson (J&amp;J) vaccines and 1.4 million Pfizer doses having arrived in the last three days through the COVAX program, which South Africa is largely reliant on for vaccine-procurement, and which is still trying to acquire enough doses for member states across the continent.



The J&amp;J vaccine trial earlier in the year had been temporarily halted due to cautionary concerns regarding possible blood clots. While the J&amp;J vaccine application has resumed, delivery of the doses to South Africa had been earlier hindered by reported concerns around site contamination at a production plant in Baltimore in the United States.



While vaccination rates are increasing, the government also has a tough job balancing safety and economic necessity; the hard lockdowns of 2020 caused South Africa’s GDP to fall by over 16% between the first and second quarters (source: Stats SA).



Keen to avoid similar damage to the economy, the government is forced to walk a tightrope in an attempt to curb the spread of infections while keeping the economic engine turning in a country with a youth jobless rate of 74.7%.



Attempts to keep this balance are reflected in the new lockdown regulations, which allow most businesses to function as normal. However, the liquor and restaurant industry say the new restrictions will be terribly damaging.



“Another ban will offer a severe blow to thousands of small businesses still trying to get back on their feet from the previous bans, resulting in even more job losses, business closures and loss in revenue for the national fiscus,” the Beer Association of South Africa said in a statement soon after the president’s June 27 address.



“The only way forward is to provide an uninterrupted supply of beds, supplies, staff and oxygen,” says Venter firmly. “We need not waste time on lockdowns or alcohol, but focus on providing the health system, what it urgently requires, and providing health staff as efficiently as possible. The supply of the healthcare system must be an absolute priority.”



With 15,036 new cases reported in the last 24 hours and private and public ICUs filled to capacity, there is uncertainty and a cold Covid winter ahead for South Africa.

Vaccines Forbes (1 of 1)

South Africa’s Giant Third Wave: ‘In July, Gauteng Might Look Like India During Their Peak’

Topline: South African president, Cyril Ramaphosa, addressed the nation on Sunday evening on developments in the country’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In his announcement, the president said that the country would be moving to alert level 2 from Monday.&nbsp;



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">Key Facts</h3>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>When last the president addressed the nation, two months ago, it was to mildly put in place restrictions for the Easter weekend in April.</li><li>The president told the country on Sunday that this move to alert level two is urgent and necessary. It is about beating the third wave before it reaches it peak, Ramaphosa said. He further warned that the increase in daily cases is following the same trajectory as it did at the start of the previous two waves. This is a concern as in other countries the consequence of allowing the virus to spread unchecked was calamitous.&nbsp;</li><li>South Africa has seen an increase of 31% positive cases this week and 66% increase on the week before that. This is mostly due to the increasing number of social gatherings where people are not observing essential health protocols.&nbsp; Free State, Northern Cape, North West and Gauteng have reached the threshold of a third wave of infections.</li><li>“We are advised that a positivity rate of over 5 per cent is a cause for concern&#8230;It may only be a matter of time before the country as a whole will have entered a third wave,” he said.&nbsp;</li></ul>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-crucial-changes-in-restrictions">Crucial Changes in Restrictions&nbsp;</h3>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>The hours of curfew will start at 11pm (as opposed to midnight) and end at 4am.</li><li>Non-essential establishments like restaurants, bars and fitness centres will need to close by 10pm.&nbsp;</li><li>All gatherings will be limited to a maximum of 100 people indoors and 250 people outdoors.&nbsp; This includes religious services, political events and social gatherings, as well as restaurants, bars, taverns and similar places.</li></ul>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-vaccine-update">Vaccine Update&nbsp;</h3>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>At the start of May,&nbsp; South Africa started its second phase of the country’s three-phase vaccination program.&nbsp;</li><li>When phase one began on 17 February, South Africa wanted to reach 1.25 million healthcare workers will be vaccinated in total, with 500 000 vaccinated by mid-May and the remaining approximately 600 000 vaccinated during phase 2 of the vaccine rollout.&nbsp;</li><li>Phase two is about prioritizing around 16.5 million South Africans based on age and other vulnerable sections of the population.</li><li>Ramaphosa stated that more than 67% of health workers have been vaccinated. Over the last two weeks, over 480,000 people have received the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine as part of the public vaccination campaign. In total so far&nbsp; over 960,000 people in South Africa have received one vaccine dose</li><li>“As the African continent, we are pushing ahead with efforts to expand our vaccine manufacturing capacity with a view to being self-sufficient in vaccine production. We are also part of the global effort to ensure that all countries have access to sufficient vaccines as a matter of urgency,” Ramaphosa said.&nbsp;</li></ul>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-crucial-quote">Crucial Quote</h3>



“However, we need to delay the increase in infections for as long as we can to allow more of our most vulnerable citizens to be protected,” the president said in his address to the nation. “Every week that we delay the peak of the third wave allows us to vaccinate hundreds of thousands more people, and may well save their lives.”

Tag: South Africa covid-19

FORBES AFRICA SOCIAL MEDIA

[IN NUMBERS] Coronavirus Update: COVID-19 In Africa

South Africa’s Giant Third Wave: ‘In July, Gauteng Might Look Like India During Their Peak’

South Africa “Urgently” Moves Back To Alert Level 2