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Bangkok Post
Bangkok Post
World

The mystery of Africa's low Covid death rates

Covid-19 Africa Sierra Leone South Africa Prabhat Jha WHO Freetown
A wedding in the village of Kamakuyor in northern Sierra Leone, in February. During the pandemic, the village's district has recorded just 11 Covid-19 cases and no deaths. photos:  FINBARR O'REILLY/nyt

FREETOWN, Sierra Leone: There are no Covid fears here.

The district's Covid-19 response centre has registered just 11 cases since the start of the pandemic, and no deaths. At the regional hospital, the wards are packed -- with malaria patients. The door to the Covid isolation ward is bolted shut and overgrown with weeds. People cram together for weddings, soccer matches, concerts, with no masks in sight.

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