African countries attempt to slow fourth Covid waveAcross Africa, the world’s least-vaccinated continent, the spread of the Omicron variant has coincided with a rapid spike in reported case counts, prompting health authorities in several countries to reintroduce curfews and quarantines, and impose new vaccine mandates. At least 21 African countries are now experiencing a fourth wave of the pandemic, according to the Africa C.D.C. Omicron has now been detected in 22 African countries, but limited testing makes it difficult to know if the new variant is responsible for the spike. Early data from South Africa, where the variant was first detected, suggests it may have already peaked there and that it is less severe than earlier variants. However, health experts warned not to extrapolate those results to African countries with older populations and lower vaccination rates.

Source: The North Africa Journal December 27, 2021 08:28 UTC