COVID-19. Fear in Africa. Case Confirmed in Kenya. Italian Volunteers on Frontlines

On 30 January 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a public health emergency of international concern in relation to the Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak.

The scientific community confirmed the presence of the Novel Corona virus in Africa notwithstanding the absence of specific reports from the continent due to the lack of diagnostic kits and the precariousness of the healthcare system in many African countries. These factors arouse many fears considering the considerable number of people that could potentially be affected. On 14 February 2020, the first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in Egypt.

To date, 13 March, at 10:00 am CET, there are 67 confirmed cases and one death from the COVID-19 in Egypt. Other African countries count: 24 cases in Algeria, two in Cameroon, six in Morocco, four in Senegal, one in Togo, 17 in South Africa, seven in Tunisia, two in Nigeria, two in Burkina Faso, one in the Ivory Coast, one in the Democratic Republic of Congo, two in Ghana, one in Gabon and today, 13 March, Kenya has the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in Nairobi.

In total, to date, there are 138 confirmed cases in the continent. The Nigerian scientific community confirmed that the virus has been present there since 28 February 2020. The infected person, an Italian, works in Lagos in Nigeria, but had been to Milan for a few days before he underwent diagnostic testing. He was the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The first case identified in Cameroon dates to 6 March 2020. According to the Ministry of Health, what worries the population and the scientific community most is the fact that the patient, 58 years old, arrived from the capital city Yaoundé on 24 February 2020.

Another potentially worrying situation is the one reported in Zambia where, according to the Los Angeles Times, a Chinese-run hospital recovered many workers who recently returned from China with coughs but were not placed into isolation.