COVID-19 timeline by country in Africa

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The COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have spread to Africa on 14 February 2020, with the first confirmed case announced in Egypt.^[2][3] The first confirmed case in sub-Saharan Africa was announced in Nigeria at the end of February.^[4] Within three months, the virus had spread throughout the continent, as Lesotho, the last African sovereign state to have remained free of the virus, reported a case on 13 May.^[5][6] By 26 May, it appeared that most African countries were experiencing community transmission, although testing capacity was limited.^[7] Most of the identified imported cases arrived from Europe and the United States rather than from China where the virus originated.^[8] It is believed that there is widespread under-reporting in many African countries with less developed healthcare systems.^[9]

New strains of the virus were found in December 2020 in South Africa and Nigeria, in addition to the Lineage B.1.1.7 variant reported in the United Kingdom in September.^[10]

The African Union secured close to 300 million COVID-19 vaccine doses in the largest such agreement yet for Africa; it was announced on 13 January 2021. This is independent of the global Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (COVAX) effort aimed at distributing COVID-19 vaccines to lower-income countries.^[11] Notably, however, African countries were being charged more than double what European countries had to pay for certain vaccines.^[12] The Group of Seven (G-7) promised an equitable distribution of vaccines on 19 February 2021, although few details were provided.^[13] The African Union secured close to 300 million COVID-19 vaccine doses in the largest such agreement yet for Africa; it was announced on 13 January 2021. This is independent of the global Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (COVAX) effort aimed at distributing COVID-19 vaccines to lower-income countries.^[11] Notably, however, African countries were being charged more than double what European countries had to pay for certain vaccines.^[12] The Group of Seven (G-7) promised an equitable distribution of vaccines on 19 February 2021, although few details were provided.^[13]