WHO Worries As Africa’s COVID-19 Fatality Rate Surpasses Global 2.2% Level

<p><em>WHO Worries over Africa&&num;8217&semi;s COVID-19 fatality rate<&sol;em><br &sol;>&NewLine;<strong><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;openlife&period;ng&sol;">OpenLife Nigeria<&sol;a><&sol;strong> reports that World Health Organisation is currently worried over Africa&&num;8217&semi;s COVID-19 fatality rate which has alarmingly shot above global 2&period;2&percnt; Level&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>As <strong>WHO<&sol;strong> worries&comma; there are indications that the world health body may deploy additional measures to curb further spread of the pandemic&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;According to information&comma; Africa’s coronavirus case fatality rate has risen alarmingly to 2&period;5&percnt;&comma; higher than the global level of 2&period;2&percnt;&comma; the head of the continent’s disease control body said on Thursday&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;Earlier in the pandemic&comma; Africa’s rate had been below the global average&comma; the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention &lpar;CDC&rpar; head John Nkengasong told reporters&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;The case fatality rate is beginning to be very worrying and concerning for all of us&comma;” he said&comma; without giving a reason for the increase&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;The number of African nations with a rate of deaths-per-cases higher than the global average is growing&comma; he added&period; There are 21 countries on the continent with a rate above 3&percnt;&comma; including Egypt&comma; the Democratic Republic of Congo&comma; and Sudan&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;The initially lower case fatality level in Africa may have been due to lower testing rates and a youthful population&comma; experts said last year&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;Despite Nkengasong’s concern&comma; the World Health Organisation’s Africa head Matshidiso Moeti told an online news conference that Africa’s case fatality rate was not dramatically worse than other regions&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;She said higher rates were probably due to the challenges African countries most severely affected by the second wave – notably South Africa where a more infectious variant has been detected – were facing in providing care for infected people&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;Over the past week&comma; cases around the continent decreased by nearly 7&percnt; compared to the previous week while deaths increased 10&percnt;&comma; according to Africa CDC data&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;With a population of more than 1&period;3 billion&comma; Africa has recorded 81&comma;000 COVID-19 deaths&comma; representing 4&percnt; of fatalities globally from the coronavirus&comma; Nkengasong told reporters&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;Africa has recorded 3&period;3 million infections in total&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;The continent reported 207&comma;000 new cases in the past week&comma; with South Africa alone reporting 100&comma;000 of those&comma; Nkengasong said&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;