Brazzaville — Three months after the first case of COVID-19 was detected in sub-Saharan Africa, the region has made progress in tackling the virus. Many countries implemented lockdowns and key public health measures early and these appear to have helped slow down the spread of the disease. However, there are concerns that if these measures are relaxed too quickly, COVID-19 cases could start increasing rapidly.
Thirteen countries in sub-Saharan Africa implemented lockdowns along with other public health and social measures nation-wide, while ten more instigated partial lockdowns in hotspots. Preliminary analysis by the World Health Organization (WHO) found that the doubling time – the number of days for case numbers to double in a given country – increased during the lockdown period in most of the countries of the region. (5 days to 41 in Cote d’Ivoire, 3 days to 14 in South Africa). Seychelles started implementing public health and social measures before the notification of its first confirmed cases and seven weeks have passed since its last reported case.
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