The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention’s (Africa CDC) Director, Dr. John Nkengasong, says access to oxygen is a critical need on the continent.
Nkengasong addressed the Africa CDC weekly media briefing on the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic in Africa on Thursday.
He says, “There is really a need to have access to oxygen across the board, which is becoming a critical need across the entire continent, huge, huge critical need. Through this, I’m making an appeal to all our partners across the continent, that we should join forces with the Africa CDC to improve access to oxygen across all member states because that is a key element that can be a game-changer in managing a COVID-19 infected person.”
Below in Nkengasong’s full address:
Africa’s COVID-19 case fatality rate
Nkengasong says Africa’s coronavirus case fatality rate has risen alarmingly to 2.5%, higher than the global level of 2.2%.
He says, “The case fatality rate is beginning to be very worrying and concerning for all of us. The number of African nations with a rate of deaths-per-cases higher than the global average is growing.”
There are 21 countries on the continent with a rate above 3%, including Egypt, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Sudan.
-Additional reporting Reuters.
