Africa’s confirmed COVID-19 cases close to 1.12 million

Mine workers wearing face masks arrive ahead of their shift, amid a nationwide coronavirus disease (COVID-19) lockdown, at a mine of Sibanye-Stillwater company in Carletonville, South Africa on 19 May.Reuters

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Africa surged to 1,118,814 as the death toll rose to 25,618, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said on Monday.

The Africa CDC, a specialised healthcare agency of the African Union (AU) Commission, in its latest situation update issued on Monday, said the number of people who recovered from their COVID-19 infections is also increasing, as the number of recoveries reached 834,262 as of Monday, Xinhua reported.

South Africa currently has the most COVID-19 cases, which hit 587,345. The country also has the highest COVID-19 related deaths, with the death toll currently standing at 11,839, according to the Africa CDC.

Egypt came next with 96,475 COVID-19 cases and 5,160 COVID-19 related deaths followed by Nigeria which has so far recorded 49,068 COVID-19 cases and 975 deaths.

The Southern Africa region is the most affected area in terms of confirmed cases, followed by Northern Africa and Western Africa regions, the Africa CDC said.