The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) on Friday said African countries have conducted over 17 million COVID-19 tests so far, reported CGTN Africa.
“Over 17 million tests for COVID-19 have been conducted to date with a positivity rate of 9.5 percent,” the Africa CDC said in its latest situation update.
As of Friday, the total number of confirmed cases reported in the African continent has crossed 1,759,794 and the death toll related to the pandemic reached 42,336, the continental disease control and prevention agency said. A total of 1,438,841 people infected with COVID-19 have recovered across the continent.
The Africa CDC said that thirteen AU members including Sudan, Liberia, Malawi and Zimbabwe are reporting case fatality rates higher than the global case fatality rate of 2.7 percent.
South Africa, Morocco, Egypt, Ethiopia and Nigeria are among the most affected African countries in terms of the number of positive cases.
South Africa has confirmed more than 723,000 COVID-19 cases and 19,200 deaths. Earlier this week, President Cyril Ramaphosa went into quarantine after one of the guests at a charity dinner he attended tested positive for COVID-19. The president’s spokesperson confirmed that he is not showing any symptoms and continues to work.
Last week, Mr. Ramaphosa had attended a fundraising event for the Adopt-a-School Foundation, a partner entity of the Cyril Ramaphosa Foundation. The foundation was set up in 2002 to improve schooling for children from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Health Minister Zweli Mkhize had previously warned that though coronavirus cases had declined in South Africa, there is still a risk of a second wave of infections that may lead to a review of lockdown restrictions.
But President Ramaphosa confirmed on Tuesday that said a strict lockdown was not on the cards. He said that he would make an announcement on regulations if and when needed.
