African Union Member States (53) reporting COVID-19 :
- Cases: 61,181
- Deaths: 2,239
- Recoveries: 20,932
| Central Africa | 5335 Cases | 208 Deaths | 1601 Recoveries |
| Burundi | 19 | 1 | 7 |
| Cameroon | 2265 | 108 | 1221 |
| Central African Republic | 143 | 0 | 12 |
| Chad | 322 | 31 | 53 |
| Congo | 287 | 10 | 45 |
| DRC | 991 | 41 | 136 |
| Equatorial Guinea | 439 | 4 | 13 |
| Gabon | 661 | 8 | 110 |
| Sao Tome & Principe | 208 | 5 | 4 |
| Eastern Africa | 5929 Cases | 187 Deaths | 2244 Recoveries |
| Comoros | 11 | 1 | 0 |
| Djibouti | 1189 | 3 | 834 |
| Eritrea | 39 | 0 | 37 |
| Ethiopia | 239 | 5 | 99 |
| Kenya | 672 | 32 | 239 |
| Madagascar | 193 | 0 | 104 |
| Mauritius | 332 | 10 | 320 |
| Rwanda | 280 | 0 | 140 |
| Seychelles | 11 | 0 | 10 |
| Somalia | 1054 | 51 | 118 |
| South Sudan | 120 | 0 | 2 |
| Sudan | 1164 | 64 | 119 |
| Tanzania | 509 | 21 | 167 |
| Uganda | 116 | 0 | 55 |
| North Africa | 21829 Cases | 1253 Deaths | 7783 Recoveries |
| Algeria | 5723 | 502 | 2546 |
| Egypt | 8964 | 514 | 2002 |
| Libya | 64 | 3 | 24 |
| Mauritania | 8 | 1 | 6 |
| Morocco | 6038 | 188 | 2545 |
| Tunisia | 1032 | 45 | 660 |
| South Africa | 10115 Cases | 205 Deaths | 4204 Recoveries |
| Angola | 43 | 2 | 13 |
| Botswana | 23 | 1 | 9 |
| Eswatini | 163 | 2 | 14 |
| Malawi | 56 | 3 | 14 |
| Mozambique | 91 | 0 | 34 |
| Namibia | 16 | 0 | 11 |
| South Africa | 9420 | 186 | 3983 |
| Zambia | 267 | 7 | 117 |
| Zimbabwe | 36 | 4 | 9 |
| West Africa | 17973 Cases | 386 Deaths | 5100 Recoveries |
| Benin | 319 | 2 | 62 |
| Burkina Faso | 784 | 48 | 569 |
| Cape Verde | 246 | 2 | 56 |
| Cote d’Ivoire | 1667 | 21 | 769 |
| Gambia | 20 | 1 | 9 |
| Ghana | 4263 | 22 | 378 |
| Guinea | 2042 | 11 | 698 |
| Guinea-Bissau | 642 | 3 | 25 |
| Liberia | 199 | 20 | 79 |
| Mali | 692 | 37 | 298 |
| Niger | 815 | 45 | 617 |
| Nigeria | 4151 | 128 | 745 |
| Senegal | 1709 | 18 | 650 |
| Sierra Leone | 307 | 18 | 58 |
| Togo | 153 | 10 | 87 |
Secret Burials in South Africa might help tackle Covid-19
According to the current rules, 50 individuals are allowed to attend a funeral but there are too few. The funeral blends traditional African and Christian elements for most black South Africans. When a family is deprived, it’s time for people to attend the funeral and ritual day in time. This involves visiting the family again and again in order to pay respect and to help plan. Livestock must also be slaughtered to supply the expected guest, cooking must be done, often in close proximity, and the tomb must be dug, sometimes with people having the same pick and shovel in rural areas.
Also Read: Economic Impact of COVID-19 on Africa
The attendees of the ceremonies are not usually familiar to the impoverished family. They may come from the local church, from the entertainment industry, or even a passer-by who hears the unfortunate incident and wants to help him. Hundreds assemble in close proximity on the day of the funeral to a church service. When the activities are over, community leaders form a human chain to distribute the food to the hundreds. And, again in close proximity, guests are dining together. These ceremonies are performed with a ritual to purify the family of a “dark cloud of death.”
Usually, they are private matters with only a close family present. In addition to reducing the risk of coronavirus discharge, some support the return to ‘ukuqhusheka,’ as families are able to save money on funeral costs, particularly when money is low. All these shifts point to one thing: that for now the rich traditions of life and death in South Africa are gone. These are the traditions which emphasize unity, exactly what the virus seems to thrive on.
Few ways could actually spark a better future for Africa:
| Coronavirus is severely testing Africa’s social, economic and political resilience |
| COVID-19 is forcing African states to invest in their health systems |
| A lack of essential healthcare supplies has triggered a debate about the necessary industrialization of Africa |
Data Source: Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and BBC
