In SA, soldiers and police officers patrolled the streets and people’s houses to crack down on social gatherings, the drinking of alcohol and the sale of cigarettes, all of which could land an offender in prison.
Orinda said there was also good public awareness about the virus in rural areas, where villagers reported suspected cases to health authorities.
He said while surveillance at international airports was effective, more resources should have been deployed at a regional level to track and trace suspected cases.
Health experts also pointed to the fact that 70% of sub-Saharan Africa’s people are under the age of 30, meaning they were less susceptible to the virus.
Tomori, who is also a principal researcher on Covid-19 antibodies in Nigeria, said his research found while the virus was spreading, not as many people were getting sick.
He said this was because younger people had better immunity compared to older people.
As many as two-thirds of the African population was largely asymptomatic as studies revealed high levels of immunity despite a lower number of known cases, a study published in the _National Library of Medicin_e paper found.
Though Africa did not succumb to the worst-case scenario during Covid-19, Fallah said African leaders had to do more to strengthen healthcare systems, specially in rural areas, to detect and handle disease outbreaks at the community level. He said this would prevent pockets of disease from developing into epidemics.
Fallah said: “We need to be able to build stronger, accessible primary healthcare centres that have drugs, water and diagnostics so our people can get treatment in their villages without burdening hospitals in cities."”
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