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Home » More Praise from WHO for South Africa’s Covid-19 Strategy

More Praise from WHO for South Africa’s Covid-19 Strategy

The Executive Director of the World Health Organisation’s (WHO’s) Health Emergencies Programme, Michael Ryan, has again praised South Africa for its strategy in handling the coronavirus pandemic. The Irishman said there has been a “tremendous amount of innovation going on in Africa in general” and specifically honed in on South Africa. Ryan said: “Again it […]

south african mask lockdown
Photo: Tom Brown

The Executive Director of the World Health Organisation’s (WHO’s) Health Emergencies Programme, Michael Ryan, has again praised South Africa for its strategy in handling the coronavirus pandemic.

The Irishman said there has been a “tremendous amount of innovation going on in Africa in general” and specifically honed in on South Africa.

Ryan said: “Again it is interesting the way in which South Africa is bringing the disease under control and how African countries are in many ways and some ways showing the way.”

He said the strategy in South Africa has been based on “preparation, primary prevention, lockdown and enhanced surveillance.”

Congratulating the government and institutions involved in the high performance levels in SA, he said the country had “67 mobile lab units around the country, 28,000 community health workers trained in case detection, and I think over 120,000 tests completed with a 2.7% positivity rate.”

Ryan said that much testing for that return was “incredible”.

WATCH: WHO lauds South Africa’s Covid-19 strategy