Coronavirus: African cases fuel fear southern hemisphere could harbour virus as northern outbreak dwindles

How southern countries deal with the epidemic over the coming weeks could determine whether the virus returns in full force once cold weather returns to the north, writes Borzou Daragahi

A man wears a protective mask in Nairobi, Kenya (AFP)

Cases of the coronavirus in sub-Saharan Africa have begun to mount, potentially taxing fragile public-health systems that have in some cases yet to fully recover from recent epidemics of HIV and Ebola.

Infections have been reported in Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Cameroon, Togo, South Africa, Burkina Faso and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In recent days, Kenya, Ghana and Gabon have reported small numbers of cases, and Sudan reported a coronavirus death on Friday.

Policymakers in Europe, Asia and North America have assured themselves that the coronavirus will subside once summer approaches and temperatures rise, giving hospitals and health workers a chance to catch up to a sickness that has overwhelmed several relatively modern health systems and threatens those of many other countries