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Review
. 2020 Dec 17:8:573636.
doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2020.573636. eCollection 2020.

Africa's COVID-19 Situation in Focus and Recent Happenings: A Mini Review

John Elvis Hagan Jr  1   2 , Bright Opoku Ahinkorah  3 , Abdul-Aziz Seidu  4   5 , Edward Kwabena Ameyaw  3 , Thomas Schack  2
Affiliations
Review

Africa's COVID-19 Situation in Focus and Recent Happenings: A Mini Review

John Elvis Hagan Jr et al. Front Public Health. .

Abstract

Given that COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) has crept into Africa, a major public health crisis or threat continues to linger on the continent. Many local governments and various stakeholders have stepped up efforts for early detection and management of COVID-19. This mini review highlights the current trend in Africa, history and general epidemiological information on the virus. Current ongoing efforts (e.g., improving testing capacity) and some effective ways (e.g., intensified surveillance, quick detection, contact tracing, isolation measures [e.g., quarantine], and social distancing) of preventing and managing COVID-19 in Africa are described. The review concludes by emphasizing the need for public health infrastructure development (e.g., laboratories, infectious disease centers, regional hospitals) and human capacity building for combating COVID-19 and potential future outbreaks. Additionally, regular public health educational campaigns are urgently required. Future epidemiological studies to ascertain case fatality and mortality trends across the continent for policy directions are necessary.

Keywords: Africa; COVID-19; contact tracing; detection; intensified surveillance; quarantine.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Regional distribution of COVID-19 cases and deaths in Africa as of 9 am EAT 9 June 2020. This figure is original and based on data from Africa Center for Disease Control (4).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Top three regional country distribution of COVID-19 cases and deaths in Africa as of 9 am EAT 9 June 2020. This figure is original and based on data from Africa Center for Disease Control (4).
Figure 3
Figure 3
(A–C) Epidemiological metrics in Africa by 31st July, 2020 (20). (A) Total cases, recoveries, deaths, and total fatality rate. (B) Case fatality rate by region. (C). Epidemiologic situation by region.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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