According to the latest COMESA Situational Update, the monthly rate of increase of COVID 19 has been declining due to the preventive and mitigation measures that have been put in place by governments to contain the spread of the pandemic.

The latest Situational Update Number 31 compiled by the COMESA Early Warning System (COMWARN) states that this decline, and the high numbers of COVID-19 recoveries recorded so far in the region, may explain the current strategies by governments to reopen up various sectors including education, business, tourism, ports of entry and other transport services.

However, the report states that even though the overall number of cases are still rising, the monthly rate of COVID-19 infections reported is declining and this can also be attributed to low levels of testing.

For the past seven months, countries in the region have been battling to control the spread of COVID-19 which has had a serious economic impact leading to business closures, disruption of agricultural production, loss of employment and revenue.

The region recorded the highest increase of COVID-19 cases in the initial months of March and April 2020. During this period, the numbers rose from around 1,000 cases by end of March to almost 10,000 by end of April representing 526.14%. Since then, the monthly rate of increase has been declining mainly due to cocktail of measures that have been put in place.