ADDIS ABABA, April 17 (Xinhua) -- The Director of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) John Nkengasong has warned African countries to follow strict COVID-19 prevention measures despite the current decrease in the number of new infections.
"We should not be deceived that because we are in a low transmission season in Africa and across the world, it does not mean we will not see the pandemic rebound. We have seen this scenario over and over," the Africa CDC chief said when addressing journalists in his periodic continental COVID-19 briefing earlier this week.
Figures from the Africa CDC show that between March 11 and April 10, the African continent recorded a decrease of new cases in the range of 16 percent compared to the previous one-month period; meanwhile, the number of COVID-19-induced deaths during that same period also marked an overall average decrease of 2 percent.
According to Nkengasong, data analyzed by the Africa CDC show that the low transmission season usually lasts between two to three months.
"We have seen this three or four times, where we go down into the low transmission season, and then it comes back up," he said.
As of Thursday, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Africa reached 11,369,164. The death toll from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic stood at 251,666, while 10,741,624 people who have been infected with the disease have recovered, according to the Africa CDC.
