'7 countries in Africa facing 4th virus wave'

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia

Seven countries in Africa are currently battling a fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, while 43 more are in the midst of a third wave, the head of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday.

A fourth virus wave is currently gripping Algeria, Benin, Kenya, Tunisia, Egypt, Mauritius and Somalia, Africa CDC head John Nkengasong said at a weekly news briefing.

Some 37 countries in Africa have reported the Delta variant and two countries have the Gamma variant, the official said.

“We are not out of the woods yet,” he warned.

The number of cases recorded on the continent is now close to 8.1 million, with deaths at 204,821 and recoveries over 7.4 million, according to latest figures from the Africa CDC.

“Africa’s deaths to cases ratio represents 4.4% of global deaths,” Nkengasong said, adding that Sudan, Somalia, and Egypt have fatality rates of above 5%.

South Africa, Morocco, Tunisia, Libya and Ethiopia account for over 60% of the continent’s caseload, he said.

Of the five geographical regions in Africa, Southern Africa has recorded over 3.8 million cases, North Africa 2.5 million, East Africa 948,500, West Africa 631,500, and Central Africa has 227,800 cases.

At least 106,800 people have died of COVID-19 in Southern Africa, 65,900 in North Africa, 16,900 in East Africa, 9,200 in West Africa, and 3,200 in Central Africa.

In terms of vaccines, Africa has so far received 167.5 million doses and administered around 122.4 million.​​​​​​​