READ | Over 67% of people above 18 years of age exposed to covid: WHO-AIIMS Survey Ryan stressed that in terms of absolute numbers, the region did not necessarily look like it was in bad shape, accounting for just over five percent of new global cases and 2.2 percent of global deaths last week.
However, he warned, across the continent, the trajectory was pointing straight up, with over 100-percent increases in a range of countries, and over 50 percent in others. "This is a phenomenon occurring across the continent," he said.
Africa has been hit less hard by the pandemic than most other regions, recording over 136.000 deaths from some 5.1 million cases so far.