Over 40 African Countries under Full Border Closure Due To COVID-19

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia

The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) on Sunday said that 40 African countries are under full border closure due to concerns related to the rapid spread of COVID-19 in Africa.

The Africa CDC, a specialized healthcare agency of the African Union (AU) Commission, disclosed on Saturday that some 40 African countries are still under “full border closure” while night-time curfew has been activated across 34 countries in an effort to halt the spread of the infectious virus.

As of Sunday, the number of confirmed COVID-19 positive cases across the African continent surpassed 724,692 as the death toll from the pandemic rose to 15,209 according to the latest figures from the Africa CDC.

The continental disease control and prevention agency also said that some 383,308 people who were infected with COVID-19 had recovered across the continent so far.

According to the Africa CDC, some African countries still allow cargo, freight and emergency transport into and out of their respective countries, and some AU members allow citizens and residents to enter but all borders are essentially closed.

It also noted that 54 African countries are practicing limited public gathering, and some 36 countries have exercised country-wide closure of educational institutions.

Amid growing efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19 across countries in Africa, 41 countries are practicing mandatory public use of face masks, it noted.  - Africa