Global update:
The COVID-19 virus has been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organisation making it a cause for concern for the whole world. The table below shows the latest updates as of 19 March 2020 and the numbers are increasing almost every hour as the updates are collated.
| Countries affected | Number of personsInfected | Number of Deaths | Number of personsRecovered |
| 176 | 219,385 | 8,970 | 85,749 |
Fore more detailed data information consult the link: https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/
Africa update:
The African continent is experiencing an exponential growth in the number of COVID-19 cases over the past few days.
From the low number of only seven countries that had reported cases as at 07 March 2020, the number of African countries with reported cases stands at 29 as of 16 March 2020 and the number is likely to increase overnight.
The map below shows the number of infections in Africa per country as of 16 March 2020.
WHO Technical Guidance – Coronavirus disease (COVID-19)
The WHO COVID-19 Incident Management Team is working closely with partners across all levels to provide support to countries, strengthen technical and operational networking and collaboration, and support operational coordination of the global response.
WHO documents can be viewed on their website using the following link:
https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/technical-guidance
The WHO’s strategic objectives for this response are to:
- Interrupt human-to-human transmission including reducing secondary infections among close contacts and health care workers, preventing transmission amplification events, and preventing further international spread*;
- Identify, isolate and care for patients early, including providing optimized care for infected patients;
- Identify and reduce transmission from the animal source;
- Address crucial unknowns regarding clinical severity, extent of transmission and infection, treatment options, and accelerate the development of diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines;
- Communicate critical risk and event information to all communities and counter misinformation;
- Minimize social and economic impact through multi-sectoral partnerships.
Recommendation:
AFRAA continues to keep awareness on the disease evolution in Africa and support our airlines with updates and sharing pertinent information on best practices.
The global trends show that the impact of the COVID-19 is going to be severe. There are already casualties of this pandemic in the likes of airlines that have reduced or ceased operations.
It is critical to ensure that our aviation industry is given the highest attention in the allocation of resources and in effective rescue plans to guaranty its survival.
AFRAA further urges African governments to consider the compensation of inevitable losses, the alleviation of exogenous operating costs, and the subsidization of the African airlines in a bid to assure the industry’s viability.
An analysis by Citibank on the current situation of COVID-19, the impact and spectrum of potential outcomes has been attached to this bulletin for reference purposes.
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