General News of Friday, 12 June 2020

Source: pulse.com.gh

Ghana among top 10 African countries with 'accelerating' coronavirus cases – WHO

WHO Sub-Saharan Africa regional director, Matshidiso Moeti WHO Sub-Saharan Africa regional director, Matshidiso Moeti

The World Health Organization (WHO) has named Ghana among the top 10 African nations driving the spread of COVID-19.

The other countries are South Africa, Nigeria, Algeria, Egypt, Cameroon, Senegal, Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea and Ivory Coast.

The WHO said the aforementioned countries account for nearly 80% of all Coronavirus cases on the continent.

This was revealed by the WHO’s Sub-Saharan Africa regional director, Matshidiso Moeti.

“It took 98 days to reach 100,000 cases and only 18 to move to 200,000,” she Moeti noted.

Dr. Moeti said, although Africa currently accounts for just a small fraction of the world’s cases, the continent has seen the virus accelerate in recent weeks.

“For now Africa still only accounts for a small fraction of cases worldwide. But the pace of the spread is quickening.

“Swift and early action by African countries has helped to keep numbers low but constant vigilance is needed to stop Covid-19 from overwhelming health facilities,” she added.

Meanwhile, Ghana’s COVID-19 case count currently stands at 10,856, with 3,921 recoveries and 48 deaths.