COVID-19: Khartoum hardest hit by pandemic

425 new COVID-19 cases recorded in two days as Sudan’s second wave continues. Especially the health situation in the capital city Khartoum is impacted severely by the pandemic. A doctor recommends schools to remain closed.

On Sunday and Monday, 425 new COVID-19 cases were officially recorded in Sudan, as the country’s second wave continues. This brings the total number of recorded cases in the country since the start of the pandemic to 20,296.

The majority of the cases, 397, was recorded in Khartoum. 12 cases were recorded in El Gezira, four each in River Nile state and El Gedaref, two each in Red Sea state and North Kordofan, and one each in East Darfur, West Kordofan, North Kordofan, Northern State, and Kassala.

According to the latest COVID-19 report by the Ministry of Health this morning, 1,309 coronavirus patients have died so far while 11,513 recovered.

In a press statement yesterday, member of the Khartoum Health Emergency Committee Doctor Bushra Hamed said that the health situation in the Sudanese capital is “extremely critical”. The vast majority of COVID-19 infections, 78 per cent, are concentrated in the city.

He called for a lockdown in Khartoum state to save the lives of people and avoid the spread of the disease at similar rates to other states.

There has been a proposal from the Ministry of Education to re-open elementary and secondary schools but Doctor Hamed recommends that, if the health situation continues in this condition, schools, universities, and gathering places should remain closed.

He indicated that there is little possibility and commitment for schools to implement and maintain strict health requirements.

Unrecorded cases

The Imperial College London (ICL) COVID-19 Response Team has estimated that only two per cent of COVID-19 deaths have been reported in Khartoum. Around 16,090 deaths may have been missed as of November 20.

Doctors in Sudan also say that the real number of coronavirus infections is much larger than the officially recorded cases.

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