Africa seeing uptick in COVID cases driven by S.Africa, WHO says

FILE PHOTO: People stand in line to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, at the Narok County Referral Hospital, in Narok, Kenya, December 1, 2021. Picture taken December 1, 2021. REUTERS/Baz Ratner

NAIROBI (Reuters) -Africa is seeing an uptick in COVID-19 cases largely driven by a doubling in cases reported in South Africa, the World Health Organization said on Thursday.

"This week new COVID-19 cases and deaths on the continent increased for the first time after a decline of more than two months for cases and one month for deaths," Benido Impouma, director for communicable and non-communicable diseases at the WHO's Africa office told an online news conference.