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Brazzaville. – As Covid-19 case numbers in Africa climb faster than all earlier peaks, new and faster spreading variants are fuelling the continent’s surging third wave.

Cases have increased in Africa for six weeks running and rose by 25 percent week-on-week to almost 202 000 in the week ending 27 June, reaching nine tenths of the continent’s previous record of 224 000 new cases. 

Deaths rose by 15 percent across 38 African countries to nearly 3000 in the same period.

With case numbers doubling in Africa every three weeks, the Delta variant is spreading to a growing number of countries. It has been reported in 16 countries, including nine with surging cases. It is the most contagious variant yet, an estimated 30 percent–60 percent more transmissible than other variants. It is in three of the five countries reporting the highest caseloads for the week ending 27 June. And it is dominant in South Africa, which accounted for more than half of Africa’s cases in the same period. According to the latest country reports, the Delta variant was detected in 97 percent of samples sequenced in Uganda and 79 percent of samples sequenced in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

“The speed and scale of Africa’s third wave is like nothing we’ve seen before. The rampant spread of more contagious variants pushes the threat to Africa up to a whole new level. 

More transmission means more serious illness and more deaths, so everyone must act now and boost prevention measures to stop an emergency becoming a tragedy,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, World Health Organisation (WHO) regional director for Africa.

With rising case numbers and hospitalisations across the continent, WHO estimates that oxygen demand in Africa is now 50 percent greater than for the first wave peak one year ago. – Reliefweb.int