As Covid-19 creeps across the region, fears mount over how it will unfold. Will a young population help stem the spread of disease, or will it unleash catastrophe on creaking health systems?Coronavirus - latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageJust seven weeks after Africa recorded its first case of Covid-19 - an Italian national in Algeria - the virus is creeping across the continent, infecting more than 10,000 people and causing 487 deaths. Three of the region´s 54 countries - São Tome and Principe, Comoros, and Lesotho - remain apparently virus-free.`Case numbers are increasing exponentially in the African region,` said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, the World Health Organization (WHO) regional director for Africa. `It took 16 days from the first confirmed case in the region to reach 100 cases. It took a further 10 days to reach the first thousand. Three days after this, there were 2,000 cases, and two days later we were at 3,000.` Related: `We will starve`: Zimbabwe`s poor full of misgiving over Covid-19 lockdown If the spread is comparable to that seen in Europe or China, the outcome could be devastating Related: `If it comes, it will overwhelm us`: Malawi braces for coronavirus HIV patients are in a desperate situation, walking for seven hours, sleeping at health facilities and going back the following day Continue reading...
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