5th April, 2020
About 44 African countries have banned mass gatherings, closed public spaces and educational institutions.
This is according to a tally by the Africa Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC).
The measures, it said, were taken to stop the spread of COVID-19 pandemic across the continent.
In its latest update on COVID-19 issued on Saturday, Africa CDC said 12 African countries have put in place “national lockdown measures, restricting non-essential movement.
Twelve other countries have put in place “partial lockdown,” which imposed restriction of non-essential movements within an area.
Africa CDC said some 17 countries imposed “night-time curfews,” with seven imposing curfews only, while ten included lockdowns.
The Africa CDC also disclosed that the death toll from the COVID-19 pandemic in Africa has reached 313, while positives cases have surpassed 7,741.
North Africa is the most affected in terms of positive COVID-19 cases, as well as death toll.
The region has 3,280 positive COVID-19 cases as well as 217 deaths.
Southern Africa is the second highly affected in the continent. It has 1,601 confirmed COVID-19 cases, while West Africa has 1,439.
Some 640 people who were infected with the COVID-19 in Africa have recovered, Africa CDC said.