There has been an increase in the number of burials since the Coronavirus hit the world. Thabo NKO, an undertaker in Soweto, says it has not been easy as there has been a drastic increase in the number of burials in a week. He could do two in a week before the pandemic. Today he can do up to 20.
Coronavirus Uneasy Reactions
The death that comes because of the pandemic is not suitable for business. Authorities are busy issuing death certificates to families to claim on their funeral insurance policies. Since 2007, Thabo NKO is laying people to rest before payment. He says there is too much on his plate, and he had to drop the rule.
South Africa is among the top five countries worldwide with the highest reported cases. It accounts for 43% of deaths and 53% of confirmed cases in Africa. However, this doesn’t mean the rest of the continents are safer. It either reflects a lack of data in such countries or maybe their peaks are yet to come.
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Africa Centre for Diseases Control and Prevention Record
Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (ACDCP) had recorded 992,710 cases as of August 5th. It took the continent five months to reach half a million and another month to reach 992,710 cases. In the recent past, there has been a higher growth rate of recent cases in sub-Sahara Africa compared to other regions. It’s just a matter of testing. The number of covid-19 cases in Africa had already passed a million many weeks ago.
The under-count remains unknown. The number that comes up positive is below 5% in a few countries. This suggests under-reporting in some other countries. The below 5% positive outcome is found in countries with relatively efficient governance, like Botswana; states with feared security forces such as Uganda and lucky ones to have both such as Rwanda.
International Rescue Committee
It’s much worse in countries that the International Rescue Committee works- for example, Somalia(17% as of July 30th), Ivory Coast(16%, South Sudan(19%), Congo(20%) and Central African Republic(16%). Britain has conducted 600 times more tests than have the African countries where the IRC work.
Africa’s elites, who are more likely to get tested, hint under-reporting of Africa coronavirus cases. Three of South Sudan’s five vice-presidents have had Coronavirus. Pierre Nkurunziza, Burundi’s former president, probably died of the virus. Likewise, to Perrance Shiri, Zimbabwe’s agriculture minister. Shiri was famously known for organizing mass killing in Matabeleland in the 1980s.
Variegated data makes it hard to note African countries’ virus responses. Rwanda’s track-and-trace technique significantly slowed the transmission. Mauritiu’s cautious action to quickly close the borders suppressed the virus.
Coronavirus Vs the Economy
Cases seem to increase as the countries loosen the laid down measures to stop the spread in favor of their economies. Countries that had the virus under control, such as Kenya, Ethiopia, and Zambia are now experiencing a daily growth rate. Testing is held back by a shortage of reagents and kits in Nigeria because of its high population. According to Tony Blair Institute, Nigeria is using less than half of its testing capacity.
Africa’s young population is an obvious boon. There is a lower number of people above 65 than any other continent. The recent publication by the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene argued that Uganda has an age structure that will keep death rates lower than in other parts of the world.
African Boon
Half of the global average (2%) of Africans diagnosed with Coronavirus have died. We must take caution. The rate can mislead as there is a delay between diagnosis and death, leaving the number of infections to rocket. Only a few states keep good cause-of-death records. WHO is working on how to improve this situation, but things seem to go slower than expected. Politicians may not see the logic of revealing the number of deaths because of Covid-19 on their watch.
South Africa might have an older population than other African countries. However, experts say that what is taking place in South Africa might take place elsewhere, and the big question to ask ourselves is, will it be recorded?
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