WHO: Africa must wake up to coronavirus threat

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organisation (WHO), has asked Africa to step up its game in curtailing the spread of coronavirus.

Speaking at WHO headquarters in Geneva, Ghebreyesus said  Africa must “wake up” to the coronavirus threat and prepare for the worst.

There are about 600 confirmed cases across the continent, with a death toll of 16 — six in Egypt, six in Algeria, two in Morocco, one in Sudan and one in Burkina Faso.

Ghebreyesus said the relatively low number of cases recorded on the continent should not make it complacent, adding that the numbers may be higher than reported.

“Africa should wake up, my continent should wake up,” Ghebreyesus said.

“WHO’s recommendation is actually mass gatherings should be avoided and we should do all we can to cut it from the bud, expecting that the worst could happen.

“The continent should learn from how the spread of virus has sped up elsewhere. In other countries we have seen how the virus actually accelerates after a certain tipping point. The best advice for Africa is to prepare for the worst and prepare today.”

There are over 220,000 cases worldwide with over 9000 deaths recorded.