Africa’s COVID-19 infections fast approaching the one million mark

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia

The number of COVID-19 infections in Africa is fast approaching the one million mark as countries report a steady spike in new cases.

As of Sunday evening, the continent had reported 929,696 cases, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

Having initially seen a slow rise in infections, Africa has witnessed a steady increase in COVID-19 cases, even as health authorities fear its peak remains ahead.

The Africa CDC also reports that the continent has registered 19,693 COVID-19-related deaths.

On the brighter side however, 581,582 patients have successfully recovered from the disease in Africa.

South Africa remains the worst affected country by the pandemic in Africa, having reported 503,290 infections and 8,153 deaths.

The figures mean the country has reported 54.1 percent of the continent’s cases and 41.4 percent of its deaths.

Egypt is the second-worst affected African country by the pandemic, having recorded 94,316 cases and 4,834 deaths.

Other than the two countries, only five other countries have reported more than 20,000 COVID-19 infections.

Regarding deaths, Algeria (1,223) is the only other African country other than South Africa and Egypt to have reported four figure fatalities.