More than two months after Egypt became the first country in Africa to confirm a coronavirus case, the outbreak appears to have reached almost every nation on the continent of 1.2 billion people.
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Of Africa’s 54 countries, only one has yet to report a case of the virus: Lesotho.
As of 2 May, the confirmed coronavirus death toll on the continent stood at 1 701, with fatalities including the former president of the Republic of the Congo Jacques Joachim Yhombi-Opango and Somalia’s former Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein.
There are 41 330 confirmed infections and 13 621 recoveries, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.
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On 1 May, South Africa began easing one of the world’s strictest lockdowns to Level 4, which means that businesses can now resume limited operations and people can leave their homes for exercise between 06:00 and 09:00. A night curfew from 20:00 until 05:00 is still in place.
Rwanda has also announced a partial lifting of coronavirus restrictions, and said it will allow some people to return to work on 4 May in a bid to revive the economy.
“Public and private businesses will resume work with essential staff while other employees continue working from home. The manufacturing and construction sectors will open with essential workers,” said a communiqué issued by Prime Minister Edouard Ngirente after a cabinet meeting on Thursday.
“Markets will open for essential vendors not exceeding 50 percent of registered traders. Hotels and restaurants will open and close by 7pm, but meetings in public spaces and mass gatherings are prohibited,” it said.
Experts warn fragile healthcare systems in many African countries could be overwhelmed in the face of a severe outbreak of Covid-19, the highly infectious respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus.
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