COVID-19 kills 32 members of Congo's parliament

[muriel_volestrangler]

Thirty-two members of parliament in the Democratic Republic of Congo, or about 5% of the total, have died from COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, the vice president of the National Assembly said.

Even as Congo, like many other African countries, has officially reported relatively few cases and deaths, the virus has rippled through the corridors of power, killing prominent lawmakers and members of the president’s entourage.

“The latest update announced by the government reports 31,248 confirmed cases and 780 deaths, among them 32 members of parliament,” said Jean-Marc Kabund, the first vice president of the lower house of parliament.
...
Masks are required inside parliament, but lawmakers frequently go without them as they congregate in large groups and hoot and holler at speakers.

https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-congo-parliament/covid-19-kills-32-members-of-congos-parliament-idUSL5N2NF3VM

That's a huge death rate, by any standard - well above the "kills 1 or 2 percent of cases" estimates, or the "doubles your chance of dying in a year if you get it" estimate, even if we assume their behaviour meant they were all infected.

[Demovictory9]

1. omg.. yes, huge death rate. I'm hoping wealthier countries are giving vax to African countries

[ProfessorGAC]

2. Inside Parliament, Definitely!

5% is huge!
But, take away those 32 from the total & the country's rate is under 2.5%.
I'm not surprised that it's higher than most of those countries where we know the numbers. Their medical & communications infrastructure is in its infancy compared to here, given how colonialism held them down for many, many decades.
That said, for the same reason, I fear their numbers may be understated making a bad situation worse.

[malaise]

3. A lot of politicians have ignored the seriousness of

Covid 19.

[lagomorph777]

4. I wonder whether they're mostly right-wingers, same as here.

[Yavin4]

5. The global rate of death after getting COVID-19 is 2%

Their death rate (2.5%) is in line with the global death rate.

[muriel_volestrangler]

6. It's 5% of MPs (nt)

[Yavin4]

7. There could be other factors such as their age.

95% of COVID-19 deaths are aged 65 and over.