Africa 54 - March 19, 2020

You are watching Africa 54, your daily news and feature magazine-style program, from the Voice of America. Host Esther Githui-Ewart and a team of correspondents zero in on the big stories making news on the continent and around the world with context and analysis.

Top Stories:

The original epicenter of COVID-19, Wuhan, China, for the first time since the virus began to grip China late last year, has not recorded any locally transmitted cases of novel Coronavirus. The country has increasingly focused in counter-outbreak efforts on inbound travelers arriving from abroad.

The new ground-zero for COVID-19 is Europe, where Italy is reporting nearly 3,000 deaths and more than 35,000 confirmed cases of the Coronavirus since the outbreak was first reported in late February. There are 219,000 global reported cases of the Coronavirus and nearly 9,000 deaths are linked to the virus.

Governments across sub-Saharan Africa are racing to improve their preparedness amid fears that the disease could spread quickly in poorer communities and cramped informal settlements.
Nigeria has seen only three confirmed coronavirus cases so far, but people are already being told to adjust their behavior to keep the virus from spreading. Churches, banks and other institutions are in the forefront of making changes.

A year after eastern Zimbabwe was hit by cyclone Idai, one of the worst tropical storms for Africa on record, some survivors are still recovering. The cyclone killed hundreds of people in Zimbabwe and left thousands homeless. Authorities have been rebuilding, but many are still living in temporary housing.

A54 Health: As the rate of the COVID-19 coronavirus infections increases in Africa and around the world, experts are urging people to prepare and observe various steps including social distancing, to protect themselves, their loved ones and their communities against the highly contagious disease. Africa 54 Linord Moudou speaks with Dr. Abdulmumim Saad, preventive medicine physician and epidemiologist about how to better prepare.

#Coronavirus #COVID19 #Wuhan #Zimbabwe #CycloneIdai #Nigeria