WHO says coronavirus could kill almost 190,000 in Africa in first year if not contained

By Amwal Al Ghad English On May 8, 2020

Africa coronavirus — A medical worker sanitises her hands at a testing centre at Tygerberg Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa, Monday, April 6, 2020 (Photo Credit: AP Photo/Nardus Engelbrecht)/

The coronavirus pandemic could kill between 83,000 to 190,000 people in Africa in the first year and infect 29 million to 44 million if it is not contained, a World Health Organisation (WHO official said on Thursday.

The projections are included in a new WHO Africa study based on assumptions that no containment measures will be put in place, which has fortunately not been the case, WHO Africa head Matshidiso Moeti said in a teleconference.