The number of confirmed COVID-19 infections in Africa stood at 1,195,297 on Tuesday, with a death toll of 27,984, according to figures from the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.
Some countries on the continent have started seeing a decline in new infections, pointing towards progress in the fight against the virus.
South Africa remains the worst-affected country, having reported 611,450 confirmed cases and 13,159. The country is the only one in Africa to have recorded more than 100,000 infections.
Its figures represent 51 percent of the continent’s cases and 47 percent of its fatalities.
Egypt is the second-worst-hit country in Africa, having reported 97,478 cases and 5,280.
A wider look at the data shows that only seven countries in Africa have reported more than 40,000 COVID-19 infections.
In terms of fatalities, besides South Africa and Egypt, only two other countries have reported more than 1,000 COVID-19-related deaths; Algeria (1,446) and Nigeria (1,004).
The latest figures come as the World Health Organization called for unity in the continent’s fight against COVID-19.
In a press briefing earlier on Tuesday, the WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom said the virus had proven that health was a critical aspect of human life.
“COVID-19 has taken so much from us. But it has also reminded us that health is not a luxury item; it the foundation of social, economic and political stability,” he said. “We’re all in this together. And with national unity and global solidarity, we will overcome this pandemic together.”
