African Union envoy says virus outbreak would be a disaster for Africa

DUBAI (Reuters) – African Union (AU) special envoy Tidjane Thiam on Thursday said a widespread outbreak of the new coronavirus in Africa would be a disaster for the continent.

Africa, with 1.8 hospital beds per 1,000 people, has “no capacity” to treat COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the new coronavirus, he said in an online conference.

(Reporting by Alexander Cornwell;Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)