Tackling COVID-19 in Africa: A Focus on Nigeria's Peculiarities and Challenges

Summary of COVID-19 Cases in Africa

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by a novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first reported outbreak of COVID-19 was in China in December 2019. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International concern in January 2020 and a pandemic in March 2020. Italy confirmed its first cases in January 2020, and Nigeria in February 2020. By July 2020, more than 15.3 million COVID-19 cases were reported in more than 188 countries, resulting in over 630,000 deaths; although more than 9.3 million people recovered.

The novel SARS-CoV-2 primarily targets the respiratory system, resulting in severe acute respiratory symptoms as its hallmark. It is primarily transmitted from symptomatic people to individuals in close contact through respiratory droplets, or direct contact with contaminated objects/surfaces. There are mild to moderate respiratory symptoms in most COVID-19-infected people who recover without the need for special therapy. However, several other cohorts, particularly older people and those with underlying medical challenges, are more likely to develop serious illness. Treatments, such as dexamethasone, chloroquine/hydroxychloroquine, remdesivir, and convalescent plasma, have been deployed, although with controversial outcomes.