The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in African nations crossed 5,108,890 as of Thursday afternoon, reported CGTN Africa.
According to the Africa CDC, the specialized healthcare agency of the 55-member African Union, 136,030 people have died of the coronavirus so far, while 4,558,435 patients across the continent have recovered from the disease.
South Africa, Morocco, Tunisia, Ethiopia, and Egypt are the countries with the most number of COVID-19 cases in the African continent. South Africa has recorded the highest number of COVID-19 cases in Africa at 1,774,312, while Morocco reported 524,975 and Tunisia reported 374,312 cases as of Thursday afternoon.
As far as the pace of vaccination is concerned, the Africa CDC said African countries have acquired around 59.9 million COVID-19 vaccine doses so far. Around 0.79 percent of Africa’s population has received a full vaccine regimen.
Five countries including Morocco, Egypt, Nigeria, Ethiopia, and South Africa have acquired and administered the most doses of COVID-19 vaccines to their respective populations.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has called for an urgent acceleration in the supply of vaccines to the continent to curb a new wave of Covid-19 infections and the evolution of new dangerous variants.
Fewer than one in 100 people on the continent have received a vaccine, meaning the surging infections are likely to kill tens of thousands.
“Africa needs millions of more doses here and now,” said Matshidiso Moeti, the World Health Organization’s regional director for Africa. “Africa is in the midst of a full-blown third wave … We’ve seen in India and elsewhere how quickly Covid-19 can rebound and overwhelm health systems.”
Earlier this week, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced strict restrictions on public gatherings and the sale of alcohol in the country as the number of new COVID-19 cases shoot up rapidly last week.
