Call to increase fight against coronavirus in Africa

The head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has called for a greater effort to counter coronavirus at a time when there is evidence it is increasingly being spread within the community in countries across the continent.

John Nkengasong said it was time to test people with flu-like symptoms and to increase measures like social distancing, the wearing of masks and hand washing.

So far the virus has multiplied more slowly in Africa than in Asia or Europe.

Experts believe this could be partly due to Africa's young population.

However predictions are difficult to make on a continent where there have now been around 120,000 cases, from a population of more than one billion.