Coronavirus cases in African countries top 40,000

By Omer Erdem

KHARTOUM, Sudan (AA) – There are more than 40,000 cases of the deadly coronavirus across Africa, according to Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention data released on Saturday.

The African continent has reported 40,749 cases and 1,689 deaths so far, according to the Africa CDC, while 13,383 have recovered from the illness.

The death toll from the novel coronavirus rose in several African countries as the continent continues to grapple with the pandemic.

In the last 24 hours, 358 new cases were reported in Egypt, 354 in South Africa, 328 in Nigeria, 148 in Algeria, 146 in Morocco, 91 in Sudan, 91 in Senegal, 58 in Ivory Coast, 52 in Guinea Bissau, 42 in Guinea, 32 in the Democratic Republic of Congo, 32 in Benin, and 22 in the Central African Republic, according to data from online resource Worldometer.

COVID-19 has claimed 14 lives in Egypt, 13 in South Africa, 10 in Nigeria, five in Sudan, four in Kenya, three in Algeria and one each in Morocco, Ivory Coast, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Benin, Niger, and Burkina Faso.

The number of fatalities rose to 453 in Algeria, 406 in Egypt, 171 in Morocco, 116 in South Africa, 44 in Burkina Fasa, 36 in Sudan, 33 in Niger, 32 in the Democratic Republic of Congo, 21 in Kenya, 15 in Ivory Coast, and two in Benin.

Also, the Atlantic island nation of Sao Tome and Principe registered its first death from coronavirus. The outbreak has spread throughout the continent except for Lesotho, a country encircled by South Africa.

COVID-19 cases have been reported in 187 countries and regions since the novel coronavirus emerged in Wuhan, China last December, with the US and Europe the hardest-hit areas.

More than 3.34 million cases have been reported worldwide, with the death toll nearing 238,700 and more than 1 million recoveries, according to data compiled by the US’ Johns Hopkins University.