COVID-19 evolution in Africa: May-July 2020

This document collects and analyzes data on the evolution of COVID-19, collected by Johns Hopkins University and published daily by the European Documentation Center in Almeria during the months of May, June and July 2020.

COVID-19. Total data Africa

Evolution of confirmed cases in Africa

At the end of May, the African continent registered a total of 103,456 people infected by COVID-19. During the month of June, this figure increased by 169% to 278,241 people. During the month of July, the number of infected people increased again by 161% with respect to June, reaching a total of 725,882.

Evolution of deaths in Africa

The number of deaths recorded in Africa during the month of May amounted to 2,577. This terrible figure reached 5,606 deaths at the end of June, an increase of 118% over those recorded in May. Unfortunately, in July this figure continued to rise, reaching 12,535 deaths at the end of July, a 124% increase over the previous month.

Evolution of Recovered People in Africa

Africa had a total of 46,548 people recovered from COVID-19 at the end of May. This number increased during June by 207% to a total of 142,930 people recovered. At the end of July, Africa had 460,724 people recovered, an increase of 222% from the previous month.

African countries most affected by COVID-19

At the end of July 2020, the countries with the most cases registered were South Africa with 471,123 cases, accounting for 65% of all registered cases in Africa; Nigeria with 45,208 cases accounting for 6% of the African total; Ghana with 28,989 cases accounting for 4% of all cases in Africa; Algeria with 24,278 cases accounting for 3% of all cases in Africa; and Kenya with 19,125 confirmed cases accounting for 3% of all cases in Africa.

However, if we look at the number of inhabitants, the countries with the most infections are South Africa (with 815 cases per 100,000 inhabitants), Cape Verde (436), Gabon (346), Equatorial Guinea (234) and Swaziland (224).

The countries with the fewest infections as of July are Seychelles (81 cases), Eritrea (265), Gambia (326), Mauritius (344), and Tanzania (509). However, if we again look at the number of infections per 100,000 population, the countries least affected by the pandemic to date would be Tanzania (0.9), Uganda (2.66), Angola (3.49), Niger (5), and Burkina Faso (5.6).

Deaths due to COVID-19 in Africa

As for the lethality of the disease caused by the virus, those countries that have so far recorded the highest number of deaths are South Africa (7497), Algeria (1,186), Nigeria (873), Cameroon (391) and Kenya (311). Taking into account the number of inhabitants of each country, the countries where the virus has shown the highest lethality are South Africa (12 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants) Cape Verde(4), Equatorial Guinea (3.89), Mauritania (3.5) and Swaziland (3.5).

The countries that have fortunately recorded the fewest deaths are Uganda, Eritrea, Seychelles, Botswana (1) and Rwanda (5). If we take into consideration the number of inhabitants of each country, the countries with fewer deaths caused by the virus are Uganda, Eritrea, Seychelles, Tanzania (0.03) and Mozambique (0.03).

Quarterly evolution of the countries with the most cases of COVID-19

The following is an analysis of the evolution recorded during the months of May, June and July 2020 of the total cases, deaths and people recovered in those African countries that recorded the highest number of confirmed cases at the end of July.

South Africa

South Africa, which had a total of 32,683 cases in May, saw a 363% increase in confirmed cases, reaching 151,209 cases at the end of June. This figure increased during July by 212% more than in June, reaching 471,123 cases at the end of July.

With regard to deaths, South Africa recorded a total of 683 deaths from COVID-19 at the end of May. This figure increased during the month of June by 289%, reaching 2,657 deaths. At the end of July South Africa reached 7,497 deaths, an increase of 182% compared to June.

Nigeria

Nigeria, which in May had a total of 10,162 confirmed cases, suffered an increase in June of 153% compared to May, reaching 25,694 infected. In July, this figure rose by 64% to 42,208 cases.

The number of deaths in Nigeria at the end of May was 287, a figure that grew by 106% during June, reaching 590 deaths from COVID-19. In July the number of deaths in Nigeria continued to increase by 48% compared to June, reaching 873 deaths at the end of July.

Ghana

Ghana counted 8,070 cases at the end of May and suffered a 120% increase during the month of June with respect to May, reaching 17,741 infected persons; this figure continued to increase by 63% during July, reaching 28,989 infected persons.

The number of deaths in Ghana was 36 at the end of May. During the month of June, this figure continued to rise, reaching 112 deaths at the end of that month, an increase of 211%. This increase was lower in July, the total number rose 56% from June to 175 deaths.

Algeria

Algeria, which had 9,394 infections at the end of May, saw this figure increase by 48% in June to 13,907 and by 75% in July to a total of 24,278 cases at the end of July.

With regard to deaths, in Algeria, at the end of May the number of deaths caused by COVID-19 was 653. This number increased during the month of June to 912 deaths, which was an increase of 40% over the previous month. At the end of July the number of deaths had increased by 30% with respect to June, reaching 1,186 deaths.

Kenia

Kenya, with 1,962 reported cases at the end of May, suffered a 224% increase in the number of cases during the month of June, reaching a total of 6,366 at the end of June. In July this figure increased again by 200%, reaching 19,125 infected people.

At the end of May, Kenya recorded a total of 64 deaths from COVID-19, this figure increased by 92% during the month of June, reaching a total of 123 deaths. Later, during July, the number of deaths continued to increase, reaching 311 deaths at the end of July, 153% more than in June.