Number of COVID-19 cases expected to rise in Sudan

The director of the Emergency and Epidemiology Department of the Sudanese Ministry of Health, reported yesterday that 71 COVID-19 cases were recorded on Monday. About 10,000 more people in Red Sea state have been vaccinated. He further warned for a measles epidemic in South Darfur and for an outbreak of hepatitis C among Ethiopian refugees in eastern Sudan.

Mohamed El Hafiz, Director of the Emergency and Epidemiology Department, said in his weekly press briefing in Khartoum on Tuesday that among the 71 new COVID-19 patients registered on Monday, 18 were registered in Khartoum and two in Red Sea state.

He pointed to a significant increase in COVID-19 cases the past couple of weeks, and said he expects a further rise in the coming period.

The medic explained that a number of new coronavirus patients in Khartoum came from Port Sudan, and called for caution and caution in the neighbouring regions. Two cases were recorded in Halayeb and two cases in Sinkat.

There are currently 44 isolation centres in the country, with a total of 190 beds for intensive care, and 130 beds for primary care, the medic reported. On July 31, 62 patients were treated in primary care, and 25 others in intensive care.

In the last week of July, Red Sea state received an extra 30,000 doses COVID-19 vaccination doses. By Monday, at least 10,000 more people in Red Sea state were vaccinated, including more than 50 per cent of the medical staff, the Director of the Emergency and Epidemiology Department said. He further pointed to the high demand for vaccines in Red Sea state.

On July 25, Radio Dabanga reported a surge of coronavirus cases in the east Sudanese state, where the main sea ports are located. The increase was noted since mid-June with 289 cases recorded in Red Sea state in three weeks. The spread of the highly contagious Delta variant in Sudan has not been confirmed.

Warnings

In addition, he reported that 600 cases of measles have been recorded among children under 12 years old in South Darfur. Most of them are under five years old. The Ministry of Health has sent 88,000 doses of measles vaccine to South Darfur.

El Hafiz also warned for an outbreak of hepatitis C among Ethiopian refugees who fled the war in Tigray and Amhara to Sudan’s Kassala and El Gedaref.