CORONAVIRUS: WHO lists Nigeria, South Africa, 11 others as high-risk African nations

The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Friday listed Nigeria and 12 other nations as high-risk African countries for the coronavirus.

The 12 other countries are – Algeria, Angola, Ivory Coast, DR Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia.

The United Nations agency said in a statement the 13 nations have direct links or a high volume of travel to China.

WHO said: “Active screening at airports has been established in a majority of these countries and while they will be WHO first areas of focus, the organization will support all countries in the region in their preparation efforts.

“It is critical that countries step up their readiness and in particular put in place effective screening mechanisms at airports and other major points of entry to ensure that the first cases are detected quickly,” added WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr. Matshidiso Moeti.

 

“The quicker countries can detect cases, the faster they will be able to contain an outbreak and ensure the novel coronavirus does not overwhelm health systems.”

 

As yet, there are no confirmed cases of the potentially fatal virus in Africa.

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