COVID 19: Africa reportedly hit the most by the delta variant as the third wave hits the continent

As the new Covid19 delta variant continues to spread, many countries have become more threatened. 

The second-largest continent, Africa recorded over 250,000 new Covid cases in the past week, a 12% increase from January’s peak. About seventeen African countries, including Senegal and Malawi, are recording an uptick in Covid and Covid related issues.

With less than 2% of the African population vaccinated against Covid-19, there is a likelihood of seeing a surge in the new variant. Active Covid19 cases on the continent recently went over 641,000, beating January’s peak of 528,000 active cases, according to data from John Hopkins University.

Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, WHO’s regional director for Africa, described the most recent upsurge as the “most fire pandemic week” of the continent. She said that the worst wasn’t over as there is more to come as the new variant continues to spread rapidly and gain new ground,

“The worst is yet to come as the fast-moving third wave continues to gain speed and new ground. The end to this precipitous rise is still weeks away. Cases are doubling now every 18 days, compared with every 21 days only a week ago,” she added.

The Covid delta variant is reportedly more transmissible and has been detected in at least 10 of the 16 African countries that have been recording an uptick in new cases. Some of these African nations include the Republic of Congo, Namibia, Uganda, Rwanda, Tunisia, and Zambia. The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said these countries are some of the worst upticks and hospitalization has increased by more than 40% across the continent.

Dr. Tom Kenyon, chief health officer at Project HOPE and former director for the Center for Global Health at the U.S. CDC, said in a little while Africa’s new cases will soon surpass that of Asia. He added that the “horror” seen in India should be a cause for alarm for other nations to take quick action. He is certain that Africa’s Covid emergency may likely become worse than anywhere else.

South Africa has already reinstated lockdown laws since June 28, as the third wave of the virus continues to ravage the country. With less than 1% of its population vaccinated, the country is taking precautionary steps to ensure that the infection doesn’t continue to spread rapidly. Less than 2% of the total population in Africa has been vaccinated due to a slow rollout of vaccines. There is no telling how soon poorer African countries will lay their hands on the vaccines. The 50 million doses of Covid19 vaccines administered across the continent to date account for only 1.6% of doses administered globally.

WHO Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus at a press briefing on Wednesday described the slow rollout of vaccines to Africa as “vaccine nationalism” where only a few nations take the “lion share” of vaccines and leave other nations grappling for what’s left. He describes the act as “morally indefensible and ineffective”. He also blamed the unavailability of the vaccine as the major reason for the “wave of death” in underrepresented countries of the world, including Africa.