‘COVID-19 deaths in Africa surge more than 40%’ Alao Abiodun By Moses Emorinken, Abuja Africa has recorded a 43 per cent week-on-week rise in COVID-19 deaths, as hospital admissions increase rapidly and countries face shortages in oxygen and intensive care beds, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Fatalities increased to 6,273 in the week ending on 11 July 2021 from 4,384 deaths in the previous week. The global health body noted that Africa is now less than one per cent shy of the weekly peak reached in January when 6,294 deaths were recorded. Namibia, South Africa, Tunisia, Uganda and Zambia accounted for 83 per cent of the new deaths recorded in the past week. The continent’s case fatality rate, which is the proportion of deaths among confirmed cases, currently stands at 2.6 per cent against the global average of 2.2 per cent.