"The best advice for Africa is to prepare for the worst and prepare today - WHO boss (video)

According to the Director-General WHO Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus it will be suicidal to take the situation for granted due to the low recorded cases as there may be far more cases that have not yet been discovered.

The Ethiopian-born health officer said this while speaking on Wednesday, March 18, at the WHO’s daily press briefing on the coronavirus pandemic.

The virus has infected more than 184,000 people and killed at least 7,500 worldwide.

As of Wednesday, March 18 2020, the total number of deaths recorded in Africa as a result of the deadly Coronavirus was 233 but Ghebreyesus said the low figure may be misleading.

“You know as of today (March 18), the number of cases reported from sub-Saharan Africa is 233 cases and four deaths, that is actually in terms of confirmed cases, it is the lowest region.

“But as Mike said, we cannot take this number as the amount of, or the number of cases we have in Africa, probably we have undetected cases or unreported cases," he suspected.

Being an African himself, Mr Ghebreyesus warned that the continent must brace up for the worst so that it is not overwhelmed in case it happens.

"But in addition to that, even if we take these 233 cases as true, we have to prepare for the worst.

“In other countries, we have seen how the virus actually accelerates after a certain tipping point. So the best advice for Africa is to prepare for the worst and prepare today. It is actually better if these numbers are really true, to cut it from the bud.

“And that is why we are saying we have to do the testing, we have to do the contact tracing, we have to do the isolation and cut it from the bud.

“I think Africa should wake up, I think my continent should wake up,” the WHO boss warned.