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Up to 65% of Africans have had COVID, far more than thought

WHO Africa COVID
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JOHANNESBURG (AP) — The World Health Organization said that up to 65% of people in Africa have been infected with the coronavirus and estimates the number of actual cases may have been nearly 100 times more than those reported.

In a new analysis released Thursday, the U.N. health agency reviewed 151 studies of COVID-19 in Africa based on blood samples taken from people on the continent between January 2020 and December 2021.

WHO said that by last September, about 65% of people tested had some exposure to COVID-19, translating into about 800 million infections.

In contrast, only about 8 million cases had been officially reported to WHO during that time period.