The First Eighty-Four (84) Days of COVID-19 in Africa: Analysis of Incidence and Deaths Associated with COVID-19

Background: The Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organisation on 11 March 2020. The spread of the virus to countries followed different timelines. We describe the incidence and deaths associated with COVID-19 in Africa within eighty-four-day period since the first case was reported in the region. Methods: We analysed open access reported data in Worldometer on incidence and mortality associated with COVID-19 in Africa over an eighty-four-day period since the first case was reported on the continent. The eighty-four-day period was from 14 February 2020 to 7 May 2020 at 11:59 GMT-1 equating to 12 weeks and approximately 3 months. Data used in this study were extracted from Worldometer and entered into Microsoft Excel worksheet version 2013 and subsequently exported to STATA 13 where all the analysis was performed. Results: There is variation in the daily reported cases across African countries. Egypt was the first country in Africa to report a case of COVID-19 and Lesotho was the only African country with no reported case as of 7 May 2020. Comoros was the last country to report a case of COVID-19 in the region and across Africa within the eighty-four-day period of our analysis. North Africa reported the highest number of deaths compared to other regions in Africa. There were a low number of reported cases of COVID-19 and associated deaths in majority of the African countries within the period of analysis. Conclusion: Our study reinforces the presence of low numbers of reported cases of COVID-19 within the first 84 days since the first case was reported in Africa. North African countries generally reported the highest number of cases. The deaths associated with COVID-19 among African countries was low during the first 84 days of COVID-19 in Africa. In addition, our study also revealed that the continent is not spared of uncertainty the pandemic may poses in terms of mortality and confirmed cases. As there is increase in the number of reported cases on the continent, efforts toward effective containment should continue to be prioritized.