Africa's confirmed COVID-19 cases close to 1.76 mln as AU warns of second wave infections

Source: Xinhua| 2020-10-30 23:17:08|Editor: huaxia

ADDIS ABABA, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) -- The number of confirmed cases in the African continent has reached 1,759,794 as the African continent is urged to brace itself for possible second wave COVID-19 infections, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said on Friday.

The continental disease control and prevention agency said in a statement that the death toll related to the pandemic stood at 42,336 as of Friday afternoon.

A total of 1,438,841 people infected with COVID-19 have recovered across the continent so far, the Africa CDC said.

The most COVID-19 affected African countries in terms of the number of positive cases include South Africa, Morocco, Egypt, Ethiopia and Nigeria.

The Southern Africa region is the most COVID-19 affected region both in terms of the number of confirmed positive cases as well as the number of deaths.

The Northern Africa region is the second most COVID-19-affected African region, according to the Africa CDC.

"The time for the continent to prepare for the second wave is now," said John Nkengasong, Africa CDC Director.

The director, speaking during a virtual press conference late Thursday, said the continent has to prepare for a second wave of COVID-19 infections, as the number of new cases in several African countries is showing a slight increase. Enditem

KEY WORDS:
EXPLORE XINHUANET
010020070750000000000000011100001394795931