Africa registers more than 5,500 new coronavirus cases

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia

At least 5,564 more people in Africa tested positive for the coronavirus over the past 24 hours, said the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention in its Monday update.

The total number of cases in the continent reached 147,099, it said.

According to the update, 165 more patients have died in a day, taking the death toll to 4,228.

It said the total number of recoveries climbed to 61,808, as 2,596 patients recovered over the past 24 hours.

North Africa recorded a total of 43,900 cases, West Africa 35,100, Southern Africa 34,900, East Africa 17,000 and Central Africa 16,100.

In terms of death toll, North Africa saw 1,900 fatalities, West Africa 717, Southern Africa 707, East Africa 513 and Central Africa 398.

The worst-hit country in terms of number of infections is South Africa recording 32,700 cases, while Egypt follows with 25,000. But in terms of deaths, Egypt recorded 959, while South Africa registered 683 fatalities.

In West Africa, Nigeria registered 287 deaths, Mali 77, Niger 64, Burkina Faso 53, Sierra Leone 46, Senegal 42, Ghana 36, Cote d’Ivoire 33, Liberia 27, Guinea 23, and Togo 13.

Sudan in East Africa recorded 286 fatalities, Somalia 78, Kenya 64, Djibouti 24, Tanzania 21, Ethiopia 11 and South Sudan and Mauritius ten each.

In Central Africa, Cameroon saw 197 deaths, DRC 72, Chad 65, and Republic of the Congo 20, Gabon 17, Equatorial Guinea 12, and also Sao Tome and Principe 12.

Since the virus emerged last December in the Chinese city of Wuhan, it has spread to at least 188 countries and regions.

According to a running tally by US-based Johns Hopkins University, there are currently more than 6.17 million confirmed cases worldwide and over 372,100 deaths, while more than 2.64 million people have recovered.