South Africa confirmed its first case of COVID-19 on the 5th of March. This was on the same day as Cameron, Serbia and Bhutan.
Since the first cases were reported in the various countries, data from the European CDC on the situation update on COVID-19 highlights that South Africa has the second-highest numbers behind Serbia. This when focusing on countries that recorded their first cases alongside South Africa.
With a just over 2128 cases as of 13 April – indications are that South Africa’s rate of infection is maintaining a reduced growth rate. When comparing the two countries, just over a week ago on the 4th of April South Africa recorded 29 more cases (1505 in total) of the deadly virus more than the 1476 cases that was reported by Serbia officials.
With a population of over 6.98 Million people as reported by the World Bank in 2018, Serbia continues to face an upward battle against the coronavirus. The population numbers in Serbia leave very little to compare against the over 57 million South Africans also reported by the World Bank in the same period.
Serbia had taken a proactive response within days of their first case, media reports just after 5 days of the first case highlight that the government of Serbia took urgent measures to protect the population against the coronavirus. These included temporarily banning foreign nationals coming from areas with intense coronavirus outbreak, namely from Italy, certain provinces of China, from South Korea, Iran and parts of Switzerland from entering our country.
However, just as Serbia surpassed South Africa’s numbers – more stringent measure were put in place by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic who announced new measures. This included the introduction of a curfew from 1 pm on Saturday till 5 am on Monday. Although punitive measures were initially put in place, the latest amendments would allow the Serbian government to try and decrease the number of infections within the county which is likely to affect their population.
All this as South Africa was entering Day 10 into the initial 21 Days lockdown, with 1 585 confirmed cases and nine confirmed deaths. This an indication of how South Africa had slowly began the daunting task of flattening the cure against COVID-19. Whilst on the other had, Serbia was scrambling to implement relevent measures to curb their high rising numbers.
ICYMI: The total number of confirmed #COVID-19 cases stand at 1585, this is an increase of 80 from the previously reported cases. https://t.co/97C2np0jPK via @SABCNewsOnline
— SABC News Online (@SABCNewsOnline) April 5, 2020
Government measures helping to curb the spread
The first case of COVID-19 in Africa was reported in Egypt on February 14. The country has managed to contain the spread of the virus, Egyptian health minister Hala Zayed highlighted. Zayed emphasized that the country had adopted precautionary measures soon after the country saw a steep rise in the import of cases into the country, which was largely due to the bustling tourism industry.
She maintained that Egypt was among the countries with a low rate of coronavirus infections. As the country announced 59 cases on March 11, Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Khaled el Anani and State Minister for Information Osama Haikal, said that Egypt was among the first world countries to take strong preventive measures to combat the virus.
أتابع عن كثب و علي مدار الساعة إجراءات الدولة الإحترازية لمواجهة إنتشار فيروس كورونا … وكما وعدتكم بالأمس نحن مستمرون في إجراءاتنا بكل دقة في مكافحة هذا الوباء حفاظاً علي صحة و حياة كل مواطن مصري.١/٢
— Abdelfattah Elsisi (@AlsisiOfficial) March 23, 2020
To date Egypt has recorded _____ cases about ____ additional cases then the cases reported on March 11, this in a period of 34 days. Whilst at the same time on March 12, South Africa had only reported 13 cases, a sharp difference of _____ in 34 days.
This statistical analysis highlights the effectiveness of the government interventions taken by Egypt. The measures taken by the country included a declaration of a two-week curfew in March.
On Wednesday, Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly extended the nationwide night-time curfew by 15 days until April 23 to counter the spread of the coronavirus. Prior to Madbouly’s announcement, Egypt had two days earlier reported 149 new coronavirus cases, its highest daily toll since confirming the first infection in February. Perhaps the rapid rise is the starting point of a downward curb for the Egyptians.
Another African country that has been leading in relation to the reported numbers is Algeria. The country is currently reporting ______ cases. The epicentre of the virus in the country is the Bilda area, south of the capital Algiers. To curb this spread of the virus in the country, the government imposed a night curfew in the capital and a full lockdown in the neighbouring province of Blida. Later this lockdown was extended to the country’s 10 provinces.
The numbers interception for the three countries is expected to give a clear indication as to evidence of how the various actions by the governments are assisting to ensure that the spread of the virus is being curbed.
