Africa's COVID-19 situation in focus and recent happenings: a mini review
Hagan, John Elvis, Ahinkorah, Bright Opoku, Seidu, Abdul Aziz, Ameyaw, Edward Kwabena, and Schack, Thomas (2020) Africa's COVID-19 situation in focus and recent happenings: a mini review. Frontiers in Public Health, 8. 573636.
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Abstract
Given that COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) has crept into Africa, a major public health crisis or threat continues to linger on the continent. Many local governments and various stakeholders have stepped up efforts for early detection and management of COVID-19. This mini review highlights the current trend in Africa, history and general epidemiological information on the virus. Current ongoing efforts (e.g., improving testing capacity) and some effective ways (e.g., intensified surveillance, quick detection, contact tracing, isolation measures [e.g., quarantine], and social distancing) of preventing and managing COVID-19 in Africa are described. The review concludes by emphasizing the need for public health infrastructure development (e.g., laboratories, infectious disease centers, regional hospitals) and human capacity building for combating COVID-19 and potential future outbreaks. Additionally, regular public health educational campaigns are urgently required. Future epidemiological studies to ascertain case fatality and mortality trends across the continent for policy directions are necessary.
Item ID: | 66584 |
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Item Type: | Article (Research - C1) |
ISSN: | 2296-2565 |
Keywords: | Africa, contact tracing, COVID-19, detection, intensified surveillance, quarantine |
Copyright Information: | © 2020 Hagan, Ahinkorah, Seidu, Ameyaw and Schack. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms. |
Date Deposited: | 09 Apr 2021 00:19 |
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