The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases across the African continent crossed 1,613, 011 mark as of Friday, reported CGTN Africa.
In a statement, the Africa CDC, a specialized healthcare agency of African Union Commission, said the number of deaths related to the global pandemic reached 39,403 as of Friday afternoon.
The Africa CDC said the number of people who have recovered from coronavirus across the continent has reached 1,331,708 so far.
South Africa, Morocco, Egypt, Ethiopia, and Nigeria are among the most COVID-19 affected African countries in terms of the number of positive cases. The Southern Africa region is the most COVID-19 affected region both in terms of the number of confirmed positive cases as well as the number of deaths. The Northern Africa region is the second most COVID-19-affected African region.
According to Africa CDC, South Africa currently has the most COVID-19 cases that crossed 700,203 cases to date. The country also has the highest number of COVID-19 deaths at 18,370.
”We extend our condolences to the loved ones of the departed and thank the healthcare workers that treated the deceased patients,” South Africa’s Health Minister Zwelini Mkhize said in an update late Friday.
”Our recoveries now stand at 629 260 which translates to a recovery rate of 90%,” he added.
Morocco is second in the list with 163,650 confirmed cases and 2,772 deaths, followed by Egypt with 105,033 confirmed coronavirus cases and 6,088 deaths.
Earlier this week, the World Health Organization (WHO) chief has said that Africa has done better than expected in tackling the coronavirus outbreak.
‘’One of the few encouraging trends is in Africa, which has been less affected than other regions and is now the only region where cases are not increasing,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said while addressing the Financial Times Africa Summit on Monday. “The current downward trend is cause for optimism.”
