Abstract
<h3>Key Messages</h3> Evidence suggests the demographic age structure of sub-Saharan Africa is the leading factor of the low morbidity and mortality of COVID-19 compared to other regions of the world. Widespread social mitigation strategies, such as lockdowns, have resulted in severe economic and societal consequences in terms of food security, adolescent pregnancy, gender-based violence, and disruptions in treating other diseases. It is imperative to weigh the risks and benefits of social mitigation strategies for future waves.
Highlights
coronavirus disease (COVID)-19 has impacted the world immensely since its discovery in the city of Wuhan, China, in December 2019.1,2 As of June 27, 2021, approximately 181.9 million COVID-19 cases have been confirmed with more than 3.9 million deaths.[3]
The impact of COVID-19 in Africa has been substantially lower compared to countries in the Americas, Europe, and Asia
The World Health Organization (WHO) African Region reported more than 3.9 million confirmed cases and 94,217 deaths, as of June 27, 2021.5 the mortality rate of COVID-19 per million in Africa is considerably lower than in all other WHO regions other than the Western Pacific (Table 1).[5,6,7,8,9,10,11]
Summary
COVID-19 has impacted the world immensely since its discovery in the city of Wuhan, China, in December 2019.1,2 As of June 27, 2021, approximately 181.9 million COVID-19 cases have been confirmed with more than 3.9 million deaths.[3]. The WHO reports varying levels of testing across Africa, testing is still relatively low compared to other areas of the world.[65] As of June 25, 2021, testing rates ranged from as low as 7.7 tests per 1,000 population in Madagascar to as high as 215.3 and 389.9 tests per 1,000 in South Africa and Gabon, respectively.[66] these numbers are far lower than rates in the United States (1,401.8 tests per 1,000 population) and the United Kingdom (2,973.0 tests per 1,000 population).[66] low testing rates likely resulted in a much lower case rate, the lack of hospital overcrowding and widespread deaths likely resulted from lower morbidity and mortality in this region This would suggest a lower predisposition to severe illness. May include detailed cohort studies of patients 19 illness, but the who do get severely ill in SSA countries with rates of diabetes appropriate controls (such as patients who test and obesity are negative for SARS-CoV-2)
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