Has the COVID-19 curve flattened in Cameroon?

Chinese authorities identified a new type of coronavirus (novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2) from a cluster of pneumonia cases in Wuhan city, Hubei Province, China, on 7 January 2020. SARS-CoV-2 is a new strain of coronavirus that has not been previously identified in humans. According to the information provided, the initial cases described in Wuhan were linked to the Wuhan seafood market in Wuhan (the market was closed on 1 January 2020). COVID-19 continues to ravage across countries across the world even as social distancing measures and border closures have reduced the rate of infection across some advanced and emerging market economies. The virus had equally damaging effects across Africa, whose health care system is underinvested, with higher population densities and urban slumps reducing the ability of health workers to effectively stem the spread of the virus.

In Cameroon, the virus has waxed and waned, with the number of confirmed by the WHO at 12, 592, with 313 deaths. At the peak of the virus, the government imposed lockdowns and guidelines to reduce the spread across the economy. These reduced the rate of spread momentarily, but recent data suggest a spike in July. At first, this appears to be alarming as several commentators continue to project economic, fiscal, and health doom for Africa, including Cameroon.

Figure 1: The number of people infected by COVID-19 appears to rise more slowly.