CAPE TOWN - Africa is experiencing its longest-running decline in Covid-19 infections since the onset of the pandemic.
This is according to the World Health Organisation Africa (WHO Africa), which said weekly cases have fallen for the past 16 weeks, while deaths have dropped for the past eight.
Infections– largely due to the Omicron-driven fourth pandemic wave – have tanked from a peak of over 308 000 cases weekly at the start of the year to less than 20 000 in the week ending on April 10.
Over the past week, around 18 000 cases and 239 deaths were recorded, a decline of 29% and 37% respectively compared with the week before.
“This low level of infection has not been seen since April 2020 in the early stages of the pandemic in Africa.
"Africa’s previous longest decline in Covid-19 infections was between 1 August and 10 October 2021. Currently, no country is witnessing Covid-19 resurgence. WHO considers that a country is in resurgence when it records a 20% increase in cases in at least two consecutive weeks and that the recorded week-on-week rise is 30% or higher than the highest weekly infection peak previously reached.
“Despite the decreasing infections, it is crucial that countries remain vigilant and maintain surveillance measures, including genomic surveillance to swiftly detect circulating Covid-19 variants, enhance testing and scale up vaccination,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa.
“With the virus still circulating, the risk of new and potentially more deadly variants emerging remains, and the pandemic control measures are pivotal to effective response to a surge in infections.”
Cape Times