Africa’s COVID-19 cases surpass 9.97 million

FILE PHOTO: A nurse speaks to COVID-19 patient behind curtains inside the intensive care unit (ICU) of Machakos Level 5 Hospital, in Machakos, Kenya, on August 30, 2021. (Photo by Patrick Meinhardt / Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Africa has reached 9,977,291 cases as of Friday evening, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said.

The specialized healthcare agency of the African Union (AU) said the death toll across the continent stands at 230,743 and some 8,878,569 patients have recovered from the disease so far.

South Africa, Morocco, Tunisia, Ethiopia and Libya are among the countries with the most cases on the continent, said Africa CDC.

Latest figures from Africa CDC showed that the African continent accounts for 3.3 percent of the world’s COVID-19 cases and 4.2 percent of COVID-19 related deaths globally.

South Africa has recorded 3,504,554 COVID-19 cases, the largest caseload in Africa, followed by the northern African countries of Morocco and Tunisia with 983,629 and 735,973 cases respectively.

In terms of caseload, southern Africa is the most affected region in Africa, followed by the northern and eastern parts of the continent, while central Africa is the least affected, according to the Africa CDC.