Hello and welcome to the Intelligence on Economist Radio. I'm your host, Jason Palmer.

Every weekday we provide a fresh perspective on the events shaping your world.

The coronavirus pandemic has drawn a lot of attention to a previously little-known bit

of medical equipment, ventilators. We take a look at what they do, how many there are,

and whether attempts to make more of them will actually help matters.

And lots of Canadians feel pretty strongly about lichens,

a kind of hybrid organism that's found all over the place.

But does the country need an official national lichen?

Given the explosion of interest in a vote that closes today, many seem to think yes.

First up, though.

Africa has not yet been hit the hardest by the coronavirus, but fear is mounting.

The continent has recorded more than 2400 confirmed cases, a number that's rising steeply.

Last week, the World Health Organization issued a stark warning.

The best advice for Africa is to prepare for the worst and prepare today,

because we have seen how the virus really speeds up and accelerates in other continents or countries.

So that's our advice, and I think Africa should wake up.

African governments have already leapt into action, announcing air travel bands,

closing borders, and shutting schools. Kenya has imposed a dusk to dawn curfew

starting tomorrow, and in South Africa, President Cyril Ramaposa announced a strict 21-day lockdown

to start at midnight to night.

Without decisive action, the number of people infected will rapidly increase

from a few hundred to tens of thousands, and within a few weeks to hundreds of thousands.

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