A security officer checks the temperature of a local at an entrance in Windhoek, capital of Namibia, June 18, 2020. (Xinhua/Ndalimpinga Iita)
The Africa Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) on Thursday revealed that the number of COVID-19 cases across the African continent surged to 992,710.
The Africa CDC, a specialized healthcare agency of the 55-member African Union (AU) Commission, in its latest situation update issued on Thursday, said that the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases across the continent rose from 976,028 on Wednesday to 992,710 as of Thursday afternoon, registering about 16,682 new COVID-19 cases across the continent.
The Africa CDC report also said that the number of deaths related to the COVID-19 pandemic rose to 21,617 deaths on Thursday, up from 21,050 on Wednesday.
The continental disease control and prevention agency further noted that some 673,757 patients who tested positive for COVID-19 have recovered across the continent so far, registering about 22,302 new recoveries as compared to Wednesday's 651, 455 report.
South Africa, which has so far reported about 521,318 confirmed COVID-19 cases, is Africa's highest affected country in terms of positive cases, followed by Egypt, Nigeria, Algeria and Morocco, it was noted.
In addition to the rapid spread of the virus across countries in the African continent, the Africa CDC said that some eight African countries have reported higher COVID-19 fatality rate as compared to the global average.
The Africa CDC, in its latest weekly COVID-19 situation update issued on Wednesday, stressed that some eleven countries are reporting case fatality rates comparable or higher than the global case fatality rate of about 3.8 percent, from which eight of them reported higher than the global average.
According to the Africa CDC, the countries that have reported case fatality rates higher than the global case fatality rate include Chad with about eight percent, Sudan, Niger and Liberia about six percent each, as well as Egypt, Mali, Burkina Faso and Angola about five percent each.
Three African countries that are Algeria, Sierra Leone and Tanzania have also reported case fatality rates comparable to the global case fatality rate of about 3.8, according to the Africa CDC.
The Africa CDC also warned that a few African countries are reporting the largest share of Africa's confirmed COVID-19 cases.
According to the Africa CDC, six African countries have reported about 80 percent of the new COVID-19 cases since July 28 that are South Africa with 59 percent, Morocco with 5 percent, as well as Algeria, Kenya, Ghana and Ethiopia each reported four percent of the total cases reported last week, respectively.
Amid the rapid spread of the virus across countries in the African continent, South Africa, Djibouti, Sao Tome and Principe, Cabo Verde and Gabon are reporting the most cumulative COVID-19 cases per 100,000 in Africa, it was noted.
Meanwhile, the AU Commission has warned that the impacts of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic on the African continent could be long-lasting as the spread of the virus, coupled with the eventual economic lockdown imposed across the continent, exacerbate the already fragile socio-economic and healthcare of the continent.
"The consequences of the pandemic could be long-lasting," Smail Chergui, AU Commissioner for Peace and Security told a report launching event entitled "The Impact of the COVID-19 Outbreak on Governance, Peace and Security in the Horn of Africa."
He also emphasized the need to exert concerted efforts across various sectors in order to effectively minimize the impacts of the pandemic in Africa.
