covid-19 timeline by country in africa covid-19 timeline by country in africa the covid-19 pandemic was confirmed to have spread to africa on 14 february 2020, with the first confirmed case announced in egypt. the first confirmed case in sub-saharan africa was announced in nigeria at the end of february. within three months, the virus had spread throughout the continent, as lesotho, the last african sovereign state to have remained free of the virus, reported a case on 13 may. by 26 may, it appeared that most african countries were experiencing community transmission, although testing capacity was limited. most of the identified imported cases arrived from europe and the united states rather than from china where the virus originated. it is believed that there is widespread under-reporting in many african countries with less developed healthcare systems. covid-19 pandemic in africamap of the 2020 covid-19 pandemic in africa as of 24 december 2020 100,000+ confirmed cases 10,000–99,999 confirmed cases 1,000–9,999 confirmed cases 100–999 confirmed cases 10–99 confirmed casesdiseasecovid-19virus strainsars-cov-2locationafricafirst outbreakwuhan, hubei, chinaindex casecairo, egyptarrival date14 february 2020(3 years, 2 months, 4 weeks and 1 day ago)confirmed cases4,155,451 (as of 23 march 2021)active cases331,375 (as of 23 march 2021)recovered3,713,065 (as of 23 march 2021)deaths110,606 (as of 23 march 2021)territories58 part of a series on thecovid-19 pandemicscientifically accurate atomic model of the external structure of sars-cov-2. each "ball" is an atom. covid-19 (disease) sars-cov-2 (virus) cases deaths timeline 2019 2020 january responses february responses march responses april responses may responses june responses july responses august responses september responses october responses november responses december responses 2021 january responses february responses march responses april responses may responses june responses july responses august responses september responses october responses november responses december responses 2022 january responses february responses march responses april responses may responses june responses july responses august responses september responses october responses november december 2023 january february march april may locations by country and territory africa antarctica asia europe north america oceania south america by conveyance cruise ships naval ships international response endemic phase evacuations face masks international aid investigations into origin lockdowns by country misinformation by governments fake treatments social distancing software travel united nations world health organization wto ip waiver undercounting of deaths covid-19 apps zero-covid national responses africa china european union germany ghana india ireland netherlands new zealand nigeria philippines russia sweden uk government us federal government vietnam medical response disease testing breathalyzer development drug development drug repurposing public health mitigation vaccines history research vitt deployment authorizations operation warp speed misinformation and hesitancy us vaccine card vaccine passports current vaccines coronavac covaxin convidecia janssen medigen moderna novavax oxford–astrazeneca pfizer–biontech sinopharm bibp sputnik v variants variants of concern alpha beta gamma delta omicron other variants epsilon zeta eta theta iota kappa lambda mu cluster 5 lineage b.1.617 economic impact and recession arts and culture aviation cannabis cinema films disney fashion financial markets food industry food security journalism music performing arts retail shipping television us sportscasting programs tourism video games by country canada india ireland malaysia new zealand russia uk us by sport association football baseball basketball combat sports cricket disc golf gaelic games gridiron football ice hockey motorsport rugby league impacts animals black people crime death rates by country disability domestic violence emergency evacuations education female environment hospitals language lgbt community long-term care media coverage mental health symptoms migration military notable deaths other health issues politics diplomacy popular culture protests pregnancy prisons religion catholic church hajj science and technology social media strikes suicides telehealth xenophobia and racism society ireland malaysia new zealand russia uk us covid-19 portal new strains of the virus were found in december 2020 in south africa and nigeria, in addition to the lineage b.1.1.7 variant reported in the united kingdom in september. the african union secured close to 300 million covid-19 vaccine doses in the largest such agreement yet for africa; it was announced on 13 january 2021. this is independent of the global access to covid-19 tools accelerator (covax) effort aimed at distributing covid-19 vaccines to lower-income countries. notably, however, african countries were being charged more than double what european countries had to pay for certain vaccines. the group of seven (g-7) promised an equitable distribution of vaccines on 19 february 2021, although few details were provided. the african union secured close to 300 million covid-19 vaccine doses in the largest such agreement yet for africa; it was announced on 13 january 2021. this is independent of the global access to covid-19 tools accelerator (covax) effort aimed at distributing covid-19 vaccines to lower-income countries. notably, however, african countries were being charged more than double what european countries had to pay for certain vaccines. the group of seven (g-7) promised an equitable distribution of vaccines on 19 february 2021, although few details were provided. timelines by country algeria main article: covid-19 pandemic in algeria the first case in the country was confirmed on 25 february. on the morning of 2 march, algeria confirmed two new cases of the coronavirus, a woman and her daughter. on 3 march, algeria reported another two new cases of the coronavirus. the two new cases were from the same family, a father and daughter, and were living in france. on 4 march, the ministry of health recorded four new confirmed cases of the coronavirus, all from the same family, bringing the total number to 12 confirmed cases. according to who prediction modelling estimates algeria faces a relatively high risk for a spread of covid-19 if containment measures such as contact tracing are not prioritized. angola main article: covid-19 pandemic in angola on 21 march, the first two cases in the country were confirmed. effective 20 march, all angolan borders were closed for 15 days. as of 18 april 2020, there were a total of 19 confirmed cases, two deaths and six recovered cases. by december 2020 the total confirmed cases was 17,433, with 10,859 recoveries and 405 deaths. there were 6,169 active cases at the end of the month. benin main article: covid-19 pandemic in benin on 16 march 2020, the first case in the country was confirmed. as of 18 april, there was a total of 35 confirmed cases, one death and 18 recovered cases. the total number of confirmed cases was 3,251 in december. there were 3,061 recovered patients, 44 deaths, and 146 active cases at the end of the year. botswana main article: covid-19 pandemic in botswana on 30 march, the first three cases in botswana were confirmed. to prevent the further spread of the disease, the government has banned gatherings of more than 50 people and the entry of people from countries deemed high-risk. the borders would be closed and citizens of botswana are permitted to return but must be quarantined for 14 days. all schools were also closed from 20 march. burkina faso main article: covid-19 pandemic in burkina faso on 9 march 2020, the first two cases in the country were reported in burkina faso. on 13 march, the third case was also confirmed, a person who had had direct contact with the first two cases. as of 14 march, a total of seven cases had been confirmed in the country. five of the new confirmed cases had had direct contact with the first two cases. one was an english national employed at a gold mine in the country who vacationed in liverpool and came back on 10 march, transiting through vancouver and paris. as of 18 april 2020 there were a total of 557 confirmed cases, 35 deaths and 294 recovered cases. by the end of december 2020, there were 6,631 total cases, 4,978 recoveries, 1,569 active cases, and 84 deaths. burundi main article: covid-19 pandemic in burundi on 31 march, the first two cases in the country were confirmed. the president of burundi, pierre nkurunziza, died during the pandemic; officially he died of a heart attack, but it is speculated that he may have died from covid-19 with members of his family also reported to have contracted the disease. cameroon main article: covid-19 pandemic in cameroon on 6 march the first case was confirmed in cameroon. according to who prediction modelling estimates cameroon faces a relatively high risk for a spread of covid-19 if containment measures such as contact tracing are not prioritized. cameroon reported 27,336 total cases, 1,993 active cases, and 451 total deaths on 13 january 2021. this is 17 deaths per one million population. cape verde main article: covid-19 pandemic in cape verde on 20 march, the first case in the country was confirmed, a 62-year-old from the united kingdom. central african republic main article: covid-19 pandemic in the central african republic the country's first case was announced on 14 march, with the patient being identified as a 74-year-old italian man who returned to the central african republic from milan, italy. chad main article: covid-19 pandemic in chad on 19 march, the first case in the country was confirmed. over 4,000 people so far have tested positive as a preventive measure, the government cancelled all flights into the country, except for cargo flights. comoros main article: covid-19 pandemic in the comoros as a preventive measure, arriving travellers were to be quarantined for 14 days upon arrival. to prevent the spread of the virus, the government has cancelled all incoming flights and banned large gatherings. on 15 april 2020, a person arriving in mayotte from the comoros tested positive for covid-19. on 30 april, the first case was confirmed in the comoros. on 4 may, the first death was announced. 54 people had been tested, and 53 contacts had been traced. democratic republic of the congo main article: covid-19 pandemic in the democratic republic of the congo in the drc, the monusco force intervention brigade has taken measures to boost hygiene to help slow the spread of the virus. on 10 march, the first case of covid-19 was reported in the country. as of march 2021, over 25,000 people had tested positive prevention measures on 19 march, president félix tshisekedi announced that all flights would be suspended. the president imposed a state of emergency and closed the borders. schools, bars, restaurants, and places of worship were also closed. republic of the congo main article: covid-19 pandemic in the republic of the congo the country's first case was announced on 14 march, a 50-year-old man who had returned to the republic of the congo from paris, france. djibouti main article: covid-19 pandemic in djibouti on 18 march, the first case in djibouti was confirmed. egypt main article: covid-19 pandemic in egypt egypt's health ministry announced the first case in the country at cairo international airport involving a chinese national on 14 february. on 6 march, the egyptian health ministry and who confirmed 12 new cases of coronavirus infection. the infected persons were among the egyptian staff aboard the nile cruise ship ms river anuket, which was travelling from aswan to luxor. on 7 march 2020, health authorities announced that 45 people on board had tested positive, and that the ship had been placed in quarantine at a dock in luxor. egypt reported 152,719 total cases, 24,045 active cases, and 8,362 total deaths on 13 january 2021. this is 81 deaths per one million population. in january 2021, the relative of a 62-year-old covid-19 patient who died in egypt's el husseineya central hospital due to the shortage of oxygen posted a video of the hospital on facebook. the video that showed the medical staff in distress, resuscitating a man with the help of a manual ventilator went viral on the internet, inviting global attention concerning the government's shortcomings in handling the pandemic. four patients had died that day and the official statement issued by the hospital concluded that the patients developed "complications", denying "any connection" of their deaths with the shortage of oxygen. an investigation led by the new york times found otherwise in which statements given during interviews by both, the patients' relatives, as well as the medical staff, confirmed the cause of death as deprivation of oxygen. egypt began vaccinating healthcare workers on 24 january. more than 300 doctors have died. equatorial guinea main article: covid-19 pandemic in equatorial guinea on 14 march, the first case in the country was confirmed. eritrea main article: covid-19 pandemic in eritrea on 20 march, the