COVID-19 deaths in Africa underestimated. A study of COVID-19 deaths in Zambia published February 17 in BMJ suggests that the impact of COVID-19 in Africa is vastly underestimated. Journals have reported on an "African paradox"-the perception that, other than South Africa, African countries have been relatively unscathed by the pandemic. According to the researchers, however, this is an example of "absence of evidence" leading to the misconception "evidence of absence." Researchers collected information and conducted postmortem SARS-CoV-2 polymerase chain reaction tests on 364 deceased people in the university hospital morgue in Lusaka, Zambia, 10% of the total deceased that came through the morgue. Nineteen percent of the tests were positive for SARS-CoV-2 virus, with 76% of deaths in people younger than 60 and 10% in children, including three infants. Of note, 73% of the deaths occurred in the community and none of those who died in the community had been tested for COVID-19 before death.