Since the outbreak of COVID-19 (coronavirus) which began in Wuhan, China, late December 2019, countries have been under severe pressure in the fight against the deadly virus.
The pandemic is posing a threat to humanity and has spread to about 176 countries and territories around the world and 1 international conveyance (the Diamond Princess cruise ship harboured in Yokohama, Japan) as of 12:58 pm, 19th of March 2020, when this article was written.
The World Health Organisation’s (WHO) map as of the time this article was written records 637 cases and 15 deaths in 34 African countries. The disease has not only succeeded in exposing the weaknesses in the global economic and health sector, but it has also revealed that even Western countries can be vulnerable to travel bans.
Since early February, when Africa recorded its first case of the coronavirus in Egypt, the disease has spread its tentacles across 33 more countries in Africa, with Egypt and South Africa recording the highest cases of 196 and 116 respectively. All of the cases in Africa have been imported from high-risk countries (HRC) namely China, Iran, Europe, United States of America and the United Kingdom. This has prompted the governments of affected countries in the continent to scale up on measures that would curb the spread of the disease in their territories.
Some of the critical measures adopted include the withdrawal of national carriers en-route high-risk countries (HRC), a travel ban on all flights from high-risk countries, social distancing within the countries, quarantine measures on citizens or residents from high-risk countries, ban of on public gathering, the lockdown of schools among other measures. The table below shows the statistics of some African countries already affected, as of 12:58 pm, and measures being implemented to contain the spread of the coronavirus:
| Country | Cases | Deaths | Measures |
| Egypt | 196 | 6 | A travel ban, Schools shut down, ban on public gatherings. |
| South Africa | 116 | 0 | Schools shut down, a travel ban, social distancing, Quarantine measure. |
| Algeria | 72 | 5 | A travel ban, social distancing, closed land borders. |
| Morocco | 49 | 2 | A travel ban, social distancing and self-quarantine. |
| Senegal | 36 | 0 | Schools shut down, a travel ban, social distancing, Quarantine measure. |
| Tunisia | 29 | 0 | Ban on public and religious events. |
| Burkina Faso | 26 | 1 | The government encouraged safe health practices and fewer gatherings. |
| The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) | 14 | 0 | Schools shut down, a travel ban, social distancing, no public events, Quarantine measure. |
| Rwanda | 11 | 0 | Schools shut down, a travel ban, social distancing, Quarantine measure. |
| Cameroon | 10 | 0 | Travel ban from HRC, social distancing, no public events, closure of schools, closed borders. |
| Nigeria | 8 | 0 | Travel ban from HRC, Suspends visa on arrival, social distancing, no public events, Quarantine measure, closure of schools in some of its states. |
| Ghana | 9 | 0 | Schools shut down, a travel ban, social distancing, Quarantine measure. |
| Kenya | 7 | 0 | Schools shut down, working remotely, cashless transactions. |
| Côte d’Ivoire: | 6 | 0 | Schools shut down, a travel ban, social distancing, travel ban, no public events, Quarantine measure. |
| Ethiopia | 6 | 0 | Schools shut down, ban on public events. |
| Seychelles | 6 | 0 | The government encouraged safe health practices, fewer gatherings and advised citizens to avoid travels to HRC |
| Congo | 3 | 0 | Ban of foreign flights. |
| Equatorial Guinea | 3 | 0 | The government limits access at land, sea and air borders and 2 weeks self-quarantine for all travellers |
| Gabon | 3 | 0 | 1 foreigns flight per week, shutdown restaurants. |
| Mauritius | 3 | 0 | Closure of schools and university till further notice. |
| Tanzania | 3 | 0 | The government encouraged safe health practices, no social gatherings and closed schools. |
| Liberia | 2 | 0 | Travel ban to HRC |
| Mauritania | 2 | 0 | Compulsory self-quarantine for travellers from HRC |
| Namibia | 2 | 0 | Schools shut down, a travel ban, social distancing, no public events, Quarantine measure. |
| South Sudan | 1 | 1 | Placed a ban on public gathering and suspends flights from HRC |
| Benin Republic | 1 | 0 | Screening and self -quarantine for passengers from HRC, excluding flight crew. |
| Somalia | 1 | 0 | Ban all flights from HRC. |
| Chad | 1 | 0 | Travel ban on foreign flights, excluding cargo planes. |
