Geneva, Switzerland

More than 110,900 people have so far tested positive for the coronavirus across Africa, according to the World Health Organization’s office for the continent.

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More than 14 weeks after the virus was first detected on the continent, the 54 countries of Africa, which between them account for a population of about 1.4 billion people, have so far counted 44,500 recoveries and 3,300 deaths.

According to Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa, ''for now COVID-19 has made a soft landfall in Africa, and the continent has been spared the high numbers of deaths which have devastated other regions of the world. It is possible our youth dividend is paying off and leading to fewer deaths. But we must not be lulled into complacency as our health systems are fragile and are less able to cope with a sudden increase in cases.''

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On Friday, the WHO said it now seemed apparent that the coronavirus outbreak was “taking a different pathway” in Africa, which has not seen the kind of catastrophe that had earlier been feared