3.6 million cases of coronavirus identified all over the world … And in Africa, where 17% of the world population resides, only 48,808 cases to date. Less than 1% of patients! The disaster feared by scientists on the continent during this period of the Covid-19 epidemic did not take place, underlines Liberation.
Few cases, but also very few coronavirus-related deaths in Africa. Out of 48,808 people who tested positive, 1,902 people have died, while 16,160 cases of recovery have already been recorded. And this, out of a total of more than one billion inhabitants. The contamination curve continues to increase but its progression is slow compared to the rest of the world. Still, scientists were worried for good reasons.
Youth of the population
Africa does not count than 2.2 doctors per 10,000 inhabitants, compared to 35 in the European Union. Not to mention that access to hospitals, located in large cities is very complicated, the transport networks being less developed and practicable than in Europe, for example. While the continent has suffered terribly from Ebola (between 2014 and 2016, then again in 2018), that it was thought difficult to impose containment there, that it has a large number of HIV-positive people … it did very well in the face of Covid-19.
This could be explained by the youth of the African continent, two thirds of the population is under 35, the median age is 19 compared to 40 in Europe. However, Covid-19 is particularly dangerous for the elderly. In addition, the treatment used for people positive for HIV is tested against the coronavirus, and could have played a protective role in this epidemic in Africa. Rather than weaken, the Ebola epidemic could also have preserved, and allowed, at least in certain areas, to be more prowled in terms of barrier gestures.
Speed of reaction
Another determining factor: the speed of reaction, notes Liberation. Three weeks after the first case detected in Senegal, the country closes its borders. In Morocco, ditto after 7 cases. Globally, the vast majority of populations are isolated from globalized trade movements … and therefore from the virus? Anyway, deconfinement has started and with it the risk of a long-term disaster scenario persists.
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