Introduction
This report provides an analysis of the COVID-19 on the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region, and provides information on the impact, recommendations and current actions. The report calls for particular attention to be considered towards sectors which have been adversely affected, and highlights key recommendations for SADC Member States and other stakeholders to be implemented in accordance with national COVID-19 response plans.
Global and Regional Situation of Covid-19
As of 20th April 2020, more than 2.4 million cases of Covid-19 have been reported globally with more than 170,000 associated deaths. On the African continent, 20,092 cases were reported with more than 909 deaths within the same period. A total of 52 out of 54 countries in Africa have reported cases of COVID-19. The two countries that have not reported cases are both in the SADC region, namely: Union of Comoros and Lesotho. This means that 14 of the 16 SADC Member States have reported cases of COVID-19.
Most countries in the SADC region are now experiencing local transmission following the initial sporadic importation of cases. Thus, there is a need to improve contact tracing processes in most of the countries as this will allow the rapid identification and isolation of secondary cases, which is key to breaking transmission chains and slowing down the spread of the outbreak. The SADC regional epidemic is mainly driven by South Africa, Mauritius, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Madagascar whose caseload represent 93% of all cases reported in the region.