The World Health Organization (WHO) called the significant number of new cases a “pivotal moment,” and is urging countries to respond by decentralizing their coronavirus response services, as the virus is accelerating in rural areas.
“We need to turn this around so countries can calibrate their response, ensuring it is most effective, and as cases move into the hinterlands, testing must be decentralized from the capital cities.” Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa, said Thursday.
South Africa is currently reporting a little more than half of all of Africa’s reported cases with 538,184 confirmed cases and just over 9,600 deaths.
SOUTH AFRICA'S 'EXCESS DEATHS' SURGE AS CORONAVIRUS CASES SPIKE; REPORT CITES 'HUGE DISCREPANCY'
South Africa is fifth in the world for the number of confrimed infections, trailing behind the United States with 4.8 million cases, Brazil with 2.8 million cases, India with nearly 2 million cases and Russia with over 870,000 confirmed cases, yet they are ranked 15th globally in death rates, according to Johns Hopkins University (JHU).
But a report released late last month by the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC), shows that there are large discrepancies in the number of reported coronavirus-related deaths.
“The numbers have shown a relentless increase -- by the second week of July, there were 59 percent more deaths from natural causes than would have been expected,” the SAMRC report said, comparing data from the last two years.