COVID-19 cases tops 1.8m in Africa

By Rodrigue Forku and Addis Getachew

ADDIS ABABA (AA) - The total number of coronavirus cases in Africa surpassed 1.81 million, said the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday.

The death toll on the continent reached 43,612, while the total number of recoveries rose to 1.48 million, it said.

Southern Africa recorded 812,200 cases, North Africa 530,000, East Africa 218,800, West Africa 191,200, while Central Africa registered 60,900 virus cases.

South Africa is the worst affected country in Africa with 728,800 cases.

In a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Cameroon's Health Minster Dr. Manaouda Malachie said the pandemic remains under control in the Central African country.

Cameroon has recorded 22,103 coronavirus cases with 21,151 recoveries and 429 deaths, according to the Health Ministry. The mortality rate related to virus in the country is 1.9%, while the recovery rate is 96%.

“At a time when this pandemic is resurgent in several western countries, one of the priorities of the response plan is to ensure the protection of the national territory against the importation of new cases,” according to a statement from the Prime Ministry.

It said health controls have been strengthened on the country’s borders.

“In addition, the active search for cases within the community, raising awareness among the population of the need to respect safety measures, and optimizing the methods of caring for infected persons remain major thrusts of the response plan in action,” the statement added.