Africa CDC Weekly Event Based Surveillance Report, January 2023

Update to event:
As of 6 p.m. East African Time (EAT) 5 January 2022, a total of 12,218,742 COVID-19 cases and 256,546 deaths (CFR: 2.1%) were reported by
the 55 African Union (AU) Member States (MS). This represents 2% of all cases and 4% of all deaths reported globally. Forty-two (76%) AU MS are reporting
CFRs higher than the global CFR. Fifty-three MS have reported COVID-19 cases infected with the Alpha (50 MS), Beta (45), Delta (52), Gamma (3) and
Omicron (51) variants of concern (VOC). Additionally, 32 MS have detected the Omicron BA.2 sub-variant.
Fifty-four (98%) MS are currently providing COVID-19 vaccination to the general population. Cumulatively, 868.6 million doses have been administered on the
continent. Of these doses administered, 433.5 million people have been partially vaccinated, 391.2 million have been fully vaccinated, and 43.9 million have
received a booster dose. Overall, 42%* of the target population on the continent is fully vaccinated. Eritrea is the only AU MS yet to start COVID-19 vaccination
roll out.
For Epi week 52 (26 December 2022 – 1 January 2023), 3,361 new COVID-19 cases were reported, which is a 56% decrease in the number of new
cases reported compared to the previous week (51). The Southern region accounted for 49% of the new COVID-19 cases reported this week, followed by the
Eastern (30%), Northern (14%), Central (6%) and Western (1%) regions. Botswana (32) had the highest number of new daily COVID-19 cases per million
population among all MS.
Last week, 9 new COVID-19 deaths were reported in Africa, which is 86% increase in new deaths reported compared to the previous week. The Eastern
region accounted for 56% of the new COVID-19 deaths this week. The remaining deaths were reported from the Northern (22%) and Southern (22%) regions
past week. While no new deaths were reported from Central and Western regions past week.
More than 83 thousand tests were conducted during the past week, reflecting a 78% decrease in the number of tests compared to the previous week. The
weekly % test positivity has increased from 2% to 4% compared to the previous week. Since February 2020, over 125.2 million COVID-19 tests have been
conducted in Africa.