Coronavirus: Africa’s most impacted nations as cases hit 54,000

The only virus-free country in Africa is Leotho, they had still not recorded a case of coronavirus as of May 8. 53 countries have officially recorded cases. The death toll is past 2,000 whiles recoveries are also past 18,000. Confirmed cases have also passed the 54,000 mark.

This article does a weekly review of the most impacted countries across the five regional blocs. North, East, West, Central and Southern Africa. It takes into consideration confirmed cases, deaths and recoveries.

Most impacted nations per region (as of May 8):

The basic records are referenced from the John Hopkins hospital LIVE portal, and from trusted government sources. We also corroborate some details with the African Union’s Africa Centers for Disease Control, Africa CDC.

• Southern Africa = South Africa; 8,232 cases, 161 deaths, 3,153 recoveries
• East Africa = Djibouti; 1,133 cases, 3 deaths, 799 recoveries
• West Africa = Nigeria; 3,526 cases, 107 deaths, 601 recoveries
• Central Africa = Cameroon; 2,267 cases, 108 deaths, 1,002 recoveries
• North Africa = Egypt; 7,981 cases, 482 deaths, 1,887 recoveries

Major African stats: May 8 at 6:00 GMT:

• Confirmed cases = 54,083
• Number of deaths = 2,073
• Recoveries = 18,412
• Infected countries = 53
• Virus-free countries = 1 (Lesotho)

The classifications are based on where the countries are located especially in the case of countries that belong to two different blocs.

Experts are currently advocation mass testing as cases of local transmission grow in a number of countries. Most countries are enforcing lockdowns, curfews to combat spread and improve containment of confirmed cases.