Africa's Covid-19 death toll passes 1,000 mark
A staff of the Rwanda Biomedical Center screens passengers at a bus station on March 22, 2020. PHOTO | SIMON WOHLFAHRT | AFP
What you need to know:
- The virus has so far spread into 52 African countries in Africa.
- Africa CDC disclosed that Northern Africa is the hardest hit region both in terms of positive coronavirus cases and number of deaths.
The death toll from the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic on the African continent reached 1,016 as the number of confirmed cases hit 19,895 as of Saturday, 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 Saturday also revealed that the number of confirmed positive cases across the continent rose from 18,333 on Friday to 19,895 as of Saturday morning.
The virus has so far spread into 52 African countries, it was noted.
Figures from the Africa CDC also show that amid the rapid spread of the virus across the continent, the highly Covid-19 affected African countries include Egypt with 2,844 confirmed cases, South Africa with 2,783 confirmed cases, Algeria with 2,418 confirmed cases, as well as Morocco with 2,564 confirmed cases.
The death toll due to the Covid-19 pandemic across the African continent also surged from 962 on Friday afternoon to 1,016 on Saturday morning, according to the Africa CDC.
The continental disease control and prevention agency also said that some 4,642 people who had been infected have recovered.
Africa CDC also disclosed that the Northern African region is the hardest hit region both in terms of positive coronavirus cases, as well as number of deaths.
Northern African countries have so far registered more than 8,746 positive virus cases and 743 deaths due to the pandemic.
According to Africa CDC, Algeria, Egypt and Morocco registered 364, 205 and 135 Covid-19-related deaths respectively.
John Nkengasong, Africa CDC Director, told a virtual press conference on Friday of the crucial need to strengthen precautionary measures across the continent so as to halt the spread of the virus.
"Movement restrictions imposed by countries may be inconveniencing and may have socio-economic effects, but the long-term gains are incomparable. It will save lives and help bring this pandemic to an end quicker," the Africa CDC director stressed.
