COVID-19: Africa to become new epicentre of coronavirus - WHO warns

The World Health Organization, WHO, has warned that Africa may become the next epicentre of the deadly coronavirus.

The WHO based its prediction on the sharp rise in the number of confirmed cases in the past week and the lack of an adequate number of ventilators in the continent.

”There have been almost 1,000 deaths and more than 18,000 infections across Africa so far, although these rates are far lower than those seen in parts of Europe and the US but the virus appears to be spreading away from African capitals,” WHO added.

Dr Matshidiso Moeti, Africa's WHO director told the BBC that they have noticed a spread of the virus from major cities to hinterlands in Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana, Cameroon and Ivory Coast.

She stated that prevention is being focused on in Africa because the continent lacks the capacity to treat the virus.

Moeti said, “We want to minimize the proportion of people who get to the point of needing critical care in an ICU because we know that these types of facilities are not adequate by any means in the majority of African countries.”

“I have to say the issue of ventilators is one of the biggest challenges that the countries are facing.

”For patients critically ill with COVID-19, access to a ventilator could be a matter of life or death,” she added.