But as cases increase, a May report by the Partnership for Evidence-Based Response to COVID-19 (PERC), a public-private partnership initiative on COVID-19 in AU countries, found that certain misconceptions about coronavirus infections exist among Africans.
The survey, which was conducted between March 29 and April 17, 2020, pools its data from "social, economic, epidemiological, population movement, and security data" from 28 cities across 20 AU countries to measure the "acceptability, impact and effectiveness of public health and social measures for COVID-19."
Titled "Responding to COVID-19 in Africa: Using data to find a balance", the report finds that governments who fail to adapt their public health and social measures (PHSMs) to local needs risk unrest and violence among their population.
The report urged African governments, before considering reopening society, to build public health capacity to test, trace, isolate and treat cases.
PERC member organizations party to the report include: Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention; Resolve to Save Lives, an initiative of Vital Strategies; the World Health Organization; the UK Public Health Rapid Support Team; and the World Economic Forum.
