When the coronavirus first emerged last year, health officials feared the pandemic would sweep across Africa, killing millions. Scientists emphasize that obtaining accurate COVID-19 data, particularly in African countries with patchy surveillance, is extremely difficult, and warn that declining coronavirus trends could easily be reversed. But there is something “mysterious” going on in Africa that is puzzling scientists, said Wafaa El-Sadr, chair of global health at Columbia University. For months, the WHO has described Africa as “one of the least affected regions in the world” in its weekly pandemic reports. WHO data show that deaths in Africa make up just 3% of the global total.

Source: The North Africa Journal November 20, 2021 13:26 UTC