(Reuters)African countries must carry out more coronavirus testing and make people use masks, a regional disease control body said on Thursday as cases topped half a million in the continent. New cases in Africa were up 24% over the past week, with data from governments and the World Health Organization showing it had 512,499 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 11,930 deaths. “The pandemic is gaining full momentum,” John Nkengasong, head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), told a virtual news briefing from Addis Ababa. Nkengasong said it was inevitable that as cases rise, hospitals will become overwhelmed. South Africa and Egypt are already running human trials for a potential vaccine.

Source: Standard Digital July 09, 2020 11:17 UTC