The death toll from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic on the African continent reached 1,158 as the number of confirmed cases hit 23,505 as of Tuesday, the Africa Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said.
The Africa CDC, a specialised agency of the 55-member African Union (AU) Commission, in its latest situation update issued on Wednesday also revealed that the number of confirmed positive cases across the continent rose from 22,513 on Monday to 23,505 as of Tuesday afternoon.
The virus has so far spread into 52 African countries, according to the Africa CDC.
Figures from the Africa CDC also showed that amid the rapid spread of the virus across the continent, the highly COVID-19 affected African countries include Egypt with 3,333 confirmed cases, South Africa with 3,300 confirmed cases, Algeria with 2,718 confirmed cases, as well as Morocco with 3,064.
The Africa CDC also disclosed that the number of people who died due to COVID-19 across the continent rose from 1,126 on Monday to 1,158 as of Tuesday afternoon.
The Africa CDC also disclosed that the Northern African region is the most affected area across the continent both in terms of positive COVID-19 cases, as well as the number of deaths. The Northern African countries have so far registered some 10,052 positive COVID-19 cases as well as 817 deaths due to the pandemic.
Last week, John Nkengasong, Africa CDC Director, told a virtual press conference the crucial need to strengthen COVID-19 precautionary measures across the continent so as to halt the spread of the virus. -Xinhua
