Official Covid-19 stats hide ugly reality: Africa faces grim outlook – The Wall Street Journal

South Africa appears to have been hit hardest by Covid-19 infections, featuring higher up the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center list than other African nation – with more than 22,000 reported cases as of late May. But the reality is that data is not being collected in any meaningful way to give a clear picture of how all African countries are coping – or not – with the deadly novel coronavirus. This is underscored by The Wall Street Journal, which sets out how medical specialists in many countries across the continent are worried about the nasty virus that is out of control. It warns that there are many hotspots across the continent, and that the experience of health workers does not reflect the official data. The reputable US news outlet echoes points made by President Cyril Ramaphosa: that Covid-19 could be with South Africans for some time to come. – Jackie Cameron Coronavirus might become 'Fixture' in Africa for years ___STEADY_PAYWALL___.By Nicholas Bariyo in Kampala, Uganda, and Joe Parkinson in Johannesburg(The Wall Street Journal) – After nightfall, gravediggers across Tanzania gather in hazmat suits to pile the latest coronavirus victims into secret graves. In South Sudan, the vice president, defense minister and nine other cabinet members have been infected by an outbreak ripping through a nation emerging from six years of civil war. In Cameroon, the military has been ordered to hastily bury anyone suspected to have died of a mysterious respiratory illness..Across Africa, government numbers show coronavirus infections have been significantly lower than in other parts of the world. But from Dar es Salaam in Tanzania to Yaoundé in Cameroon and cities in Somalia and across northern Nigeria, health workers are reporting a reality that bears little resemblance to the official data, with hot spots emerging in countries with few resources to tackle them.Coronavirus cases in the region exceeded 100,000, with more than 3,105 deaths, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, a public-health agency of the African Union.The World Health Organization on Friday said the virus had spread to every one of the continent's 54 nations and has warned that a quarter of the continent's 1.33 billion population could eventually be infected. There have been 3,100 confirmed deaths and the United Nations forecast that 300,000 Africans could die as their nations hit a peak infection rate in the coming months. That could be disastrous for a continent with creaking health-care systems, some of the world's poorest communities and weak governance."There are reports of people dying with Covid-like symptoms who will never be tested," Rosalind Crowther, South Sudan country director with humanitarian agency CARE International, said of the situation across the continent. "The actual number of cases is much higher, the focus will be on home-based care because facilities will never be able to cope with demand."Only around one million coronavirus tests have been carried out across Africa, according to the Africa CDC, and just two countries – Ghana and South Africa – account for nearly half of the tests.Many African nations imposed strict lockdowns after cases of the virus surged in Europe and the US. Several of the region's governments including South Africa, Senegal and Ghana have been praised by the WHO for the speed and efficacy of their responses.But even in South Africa, the continent's most developed economy, coronavirus cases have exploded in Cape Town and its surrounding wine lands. Modeling suggests hospitals could become overwhelmed within weeks.The South African Covid-19 Modelling Consortium, a group of academics and experts from the country's National Institute for Communicable Diseases, warns that the nation's estimated 3,300 intensive-care beds could fill up as soon as early June, with some 25,000 patients needing that level of care by late August even under an optimistic scenario."Covid-19 will likely smoulder in transmission hot spots," said Matshidiso Moeti, WHO's regional director for Africa. "It could become a fixture in our lives for the next several years."In Tanzania, a dozen government officials, including a cabinet minister, have died in recent weeks after suffering short respiratory illnesses, though there has been no official confirmation whether any of them contracted Covid-19. Cellphone videos taken by residents and viewed by The Wall Street Journal show dozens of bodies being buried a nighttime in a single mass grave overseen by the police."We never got to verify that the body that was buried was really him" said Joseph Mchanga, who rushed to a cemetery in Tanzania's capital for the burial of his cousin, who had died after days of severe coughing and fever. "The bodies were many and all covered up, we were only allowed to approach after the grave had been covered up."Officially, the country of 56 million has only 509 cases, with 21 deaths. But doctors, health experts and opposition politicians say the virus has killed hundreds. Overbooked clinics are turning away ambulances. After the US Embassy issued a health alert, the government abruptly stopped releasing its data in mid-May."Poor response has led to massive deaths and nighttime burials," said Zitto Kabwe, an opposition lawmaker. "The official figures are massively under reported, there is a clear lack of transparency."President John Magufuli, who has spent much of the crisis holed up in his remote home village, blamed the national laboratory of falsifying coronavirus tests at the behest of "imperial powers" to inflate the threat of the disease. He also claimed that his son contracted Covid-19 and healed by undergoing steam baths and drinking ginger and lemon.After refusing to close shops and churches, Mr. Magufuli said Thursday that he would reopen sporting events. "Immunity improves when people come together… People must do sports to remain healthy," he said. A political ally of the president, Paul Makonda, the regional commissioner of Dar es Salaam, said Friday that Tanzanians should take to the streets on Sunday to celebrate "the end of the coronavirus."Neighbouring Zambia and Kenya have closed some border crossings with Tanzania following an increase of imported coronavirus cases, stalling multimillion-dollar shipments of copper and cobalt for several days. Landlocked Uganda and Rwanda have imposed more measures on travelers and truckers from Tanzania.Now the virus appears to be surging in nearby South Sudan, where 11 cabinet members, including Vice President Riek Machar, who heads a task force to combat the disease, tested positive for coronavirus this week, along with his wife, also a cabinet member.Analysts said the news suggests the virus could be working its way through the country's elite at a delicate moment: South Sudan last week became the first African country to register coronavirus cases in refugee camps. Some 1.5 million people are living in enclosed and overcrowded temporary settlements across the country, where the implementation of social distancing is impossible.Every one of the 15-member coronavirus task force has now tested positive for the virus, according to the minister of information, who has also been infected. The government on Friday was forced to deny reports that cabinet ministers had been airlifted out of the country for emergency treatment.In Cameroon, the military has been tasked with hastily burying anyone suspected to have died from Covid-19. French medical agency Doctors Without Borders has warned that the country of 25 million, with over 4,000 official infections and 140 deaths, has seen the disease spread from cities into the countryside. Activists say the true number of cases is likely five times the official figure.President Paul Biya, who has led the country since Gerald Ford was in the Oval Office, hasn't appeared in public for months, sparking rumours that he might be dead of Covid-19. On Friday, the government said one of the president's personal doctors had died in the capital Yaoundé.— Emmanuel Tumanjong in Yaoundé, Cameroon, contributed to this article.– Write to Nicholas Bariyo at nicholas.bariyo@wsj.com and Joe Parkinson at joe.parkinson@wsj.com.

Official Covid-19 stats hide ugly reality: Africa faces grim outlook – The Wall Street Journal

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