COVID-19 cases surge in Africa as Omicron spreads

The COVID-19 Omicron variant is driving a sharp increase in new infection cases in Africa, with Algeria, Kenya and Mauritius experiencing a fifth wave of the pandemic while 21 others are experiencing a fourth.

This comes as Africa CDC expresses fears of another surge, due to the ongoing Christmas and New Year festivities which are usually celebrated with gatherings.

John Nkengasong, the director of Africa CDC, on Thursday said he was concerned the fourth and potentially fifth wave started before the festival period, unlike last year where the waves came after the holiday season.

Nkengasong said the continent recorded 253,000 new infections over the past week, translating to a 21 percent increase compared to the previous week. The continent also recorded a 14 percent increase in deaths.

According to data from Africa CDC, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Eswatini, Kenya and Botswana are reporting the highest number of new infections.

On Sunday, Kenya reported a 35 percent COVID-19 positivity rate, the highest since the country reported the first case of the virus in March of 2020.

Mutahi Kagwe, the cabinet secretary of health, said 704 patients are currently admitted in various health facilities countrywide, while 18,696 are under the Home-Based Isolation and Care program.

"All public and private vaccination centers will remain open until late during this festive period. I thank those already vaccinated and encourage those that are yet to get either their first or second dose to do so soon," he said.

To compel more Kenyans to go for vaccines, the East African country has maintained production of COVID-19 vaccine proof for those seeking government services and also those who would like to access public places like supermarkets, hotels, sports, conferences and bars, among others.

According to Mercy Mwangangi, the health cabinet administrative secretary, the ministry's goal is to have the whole adult population in the country vaccinated in the shortest time possible to ensure many people are protected against severe disease.

This is in the light of the increasing infections due to the onset of Omicron. As of Dec 26, Kenya had reported a total of 282,554 infections and 5,361 deaths.

The country has fully vaccinated 3.9 million people, representing 14.4 percent of the adult population.

South Africa, the epicenter of the Omicron variant, reported over 140,000 new cases last week.

On Sunday, the country reported 5,604 new cases, with a positivity rate of 27.2 percent according to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases. The number of hospitalizations remained low, with only 42 new admissions reported on Sunday.

Currently, 9,112 COVID-19 patients are admitted in various private and public health facilities in the country.

To control the spread of COVID-19, South Africa has been on lockdown level 1 since Oct 1, entailing a midnight to 4 am nationwide curfew and limited number of public gatherings, among other measures.

So far, South Africa has reported more than 3.4 million COVID-19 cases and more than 90,000 deaths. The country has fully vaccinated 26.1 percent of its eligible population.

To date, 22 African Union member states have reported the presence of the highly contagious Omicron variant.

Nkengasong said the variant is 70 to 80 percent less severe than the Delta variant, according to South African scientists.