The numbers of recorded coronavirus infections in Africa have been relatively low so far – with nearly 11,000 cases and 562 deaths, according to a Reuters tally based on government statements and WHO data.
The WHO’s Africa chief, Matshidiso Moeti, said there is an urgent need to expand testing capacity beyond capital cities in Africa as the virus spreads through countries.
“Without help and action now, poor countries and vulnerable communities could suffer massive devastation,” WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told diplomats in Geneva.
He noted that the continent has had the “least amount of casualties’’ from the virus, with a total of 572 deaths recorded and suggested that any vaccine be tested in the worst-affected places such as New York, Paris or Italy.
According to them, people there do not have masks, treatments or resuscitation.
The doctors’ comments caused uproar and were condemned by the French embassy in South Africa, among others.
Quartey also took issue with recent comments by U.S. President Donald Trump criticising the coronavirus response by the World Health Organisation, which is led by Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, an Ethiopian national. Thenationonlineng
