Pretoria, March 24 (RHC)-- The World Health Organization has warned African nations to prepare for the worst, as cases continue to multiply. The continent now has over 1,000 confirmed cases in over 42 countries.

In South Africa, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases has topped 270, making it the country with the highest number of infections in sub-Saharan Africa.

In Burkina Faso, four government ministers tested positive for coronavirus as cases there topped nearly 100 — the highest number in West Africa.

Lockdowns are underway in a number of countries, including Rwanda, Ghana and Tunisia, which now has 75 confirmed cases of COVID-19.

Meanwhile, travelers who arrive in Ethiopia will face mandatory quarantine as of today.  Somalia is lifting its ban on international flights for two days so that citizens outside the country can come home.

In Nigeria, health authorities are warning against self-medicating, after two patients overdosed on the anti-malaria drug chloroquine, which U.S. President Donald Trump has praised as a possible treatment for coronavirus.  

Tests are currently being carried out with anti-malarials in the U.S. and other countries, but the FDA and the WHO have not approved its use as a treatment for COVID-19.  Back in the U.S., lupus patients have reported shortages of the drug hydroxychloroquine — which is used to treat both malaria and lupus — following Trump’s recent statements.