Africa’s confirmed coronavirus cases have surpassed the one million mark, with more than 690,000 recoveries and more than 22,000 deaths cumulatively, the World Health Organization (WHO) said.
World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Africa Dr Matshidiso Moeti also made the announcement on her official Twitter page, saying that WHO is supporting countries to decentralize testing, tracing, isolation and treatment.
Today, #Africa crossed an important threshold – 1 million #COVID19 cases on the continent. As more cases are detected beyond major cities, @WHO is supporting countries to decentralize testing, tracing, isolation & treatment. pic.twitter.com/N9BylFhVfp
— Dr Matshidiso Moeti (@MoetiTshidi) August 7, 2020
The Africa CDC, a specialized healthcare agency of the 55-member African Union Commission, said in its latest situation update that the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases across the continent rose to 1,007,366 as of Friday afternoon.
South Africa, the worst-hit country on the continent, has registered 538,184 confirmed COVID-19 cases so far, followed by Egypt, Nigeria, Algeria and Morocco, Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said.
In addition to the rapid spread of the virus in the African continent, the Africa CDC said eight African countries have reported higher COVID-19 fatality rates compared to the global average, namely Chad, Sudan, Niger, Liberia, Egypt, Mali, Burkina Faso and Angola.
Amid the rapid spread of the virus across countries on the continent, South Africa, Djibouti, Sao Tome and Principe, Cape Verde and Gabon are reporting the most cumulative COVID-19 cases per 100,000 in Africa, it added.
