No masks, no vaccines: Scientists mystified as Africa avoids Covid-19 disaster

When the coronavirus first emerged last year, health officials feared the pandemic would sweep across Africa, killing millions. That catastrophic scenario has yet to materialize in much of the continent.

At a busy market in a poor township outside Harare this week, Nyasha Ndou kept his mask in his pocket, as hundreds of other people, mostly unmasked, jostled to buy and sell fruit and vegetables displayed on wooden tables and plastic sheets. As in much of Zimbabwe, here the coronavirus is quickly being relegated to the past, as political rallies, concerts and home gatherings have returned.

“Covid-19 is gone, when did you last hear of anyone who has died of Covid-19?” Ndou said. “The mask is to protect my pocket,” he said. “The police demand bribes so I lose money if I don’t move around with a mask.” Earlier this week, Zimbabwe recorded just 33 new Covid-19 cases and zero deaths, in line with a recent fall in the disease across the continent, where World Health Organization data show that infections have been dropping since July.