Africa’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic: A summary of country reports
SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, was declared a public health emergency of international concern on 30 January 2020 and a pandemic on 11 March 2020. It was first detected in Wuhan, China in November 2019. Most countries were on high alert and surveillance was heightened at airports and other points of entry.
The principal mode by which people are infected with SARS-CoV-2 is through exposure to respiratory fluids carrying the infectious virus. Exposure occurs in three principal ways: inhalation of very fine respiratory droplets and aerosol particles; deposition of respiratory droplets and particles on exposed mucous membranes in the mouth, nose, or eye by direct splashes and sprays; and touching mucous membranes with hands that have been soiled either directly by virus-containing respiratory fluids or indirectly by touching surfaces with the virus on them.
As at 29 November 2021, COVID-19 has caused 259,502,031 infections and 5,183,003 deaths; an average case fatality rate of 2%.