MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 03rd December, 2020) The World Health Organization's (WHO) regional director for Africa, Matshidiso Rebecca Moeti, on Thursday expressed concerns over a recent spike in the number of COVID-19 cases on the continent, which may increase even further during the winter holidays.
"It is very worrying because we are coming up to a festive season where there will be a lot of things happening, movement. People are going to be traveling to be with their families over Christmas or to celebrate the New Year; gatherings � both religious and family gatherings, coupled with observed fatigue in the observation of protective measures... This is worrying," Moeti said at the briefing.
According to the official, the epidemiological situation was especially deteriorating in countries like Kenya and Ethiopia.
"It is not yet dramatic in terms of the rate and speed as to be called a second wave. We need to look at different countries differently. Certainly in North African countries - in Algeria, in Morocco we are seeing rather rapid increases, similar to what have happened in Europe... We are also seeing in South Africa, which had a good decrease in the past few months, an increase in some hotspots, places like the Eastern Cape," Moeti noted.
What is especially of great concern, according to the doctor, is the fact that people, in general, are tired of the pandemic.
"People are fatigued of day-to-day, in a sustained way, keeping to prevention measures, wearing masks, social distancing and hygiene. We have seen in the past few weeks a kind of leveling off of the rate of decrease, which was making us very encouraged. And now in the past few weeks, in the last three or four weeks we have seen an increase in a daily number of cases," Moeti added.
Since the start of the pandemic, the WHO Regional Office for Africa has registered almost 2.2 million cases of the coronavirus disease and over 52,000 related deaths on the continent.
According to data published by the WHO, South Africa and Kenya have registered the most number of COVID-19 cases � 796,472 and 85,130, respectively.
The WHO and Geneva-based Gavi vaccine alliance have teamed up to provide African countries with accessible and affordable vaccines through the COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access Facility that aims to ensure the fair distribution of safe and effective vaccines against the disease.
