Projections by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) for Sub-Saharan Africa show that even in the best-case scenario, Covid-19 would still exact a heavy toll on the region with an estimated total of 85,688 deaths by December 1 up from 15,000 deaths in mid-July.

IHME is an independent global health research organisation at the University of Washington School of Medicine and provides comparable measurement of the world’s most important health problems and evaluates the strategies to address them.

In a statement released Monday, IHME indicates that the largest numbers of deaths in Sub-Saharan Africa are likely to occur in Malawi, Kenya, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Zambia.

IHME Director Dr Christopher Murray said that these new projections suggest that such mandates must continue to play a critical role and that people in all countries should wear masks regularly.