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More than 5 million COVID-19 cases in Africa, Agence tally shows

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Agence France-Presse

<p>PARIS - More than 5 million people have contracted the Covid-19 virus in Africa since it emerged in China in late 2019, data compiled by AFP from official sources showed Saturday.</p><p>A total of 5,008,656 cases of the coronavirus have been reported in 54 countries and territories, including almost 109,800 in the past seven days, for a daily average of 15,680.</p><p>More than 134,000 people have died, and the daily average of around 320 represents an increase of 16 percent from the comparable figure a week ago.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/06/12/21/pandemic-surges-in-africa-as-it-slows-elsewhere">Pandemic surges in Africa as it slows elsewhere</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/spotlight/05/31/21/southeast-asias-coronavirus-surge-prompts-shutdowns-and-alarm">Southeast Asia&#x27;s coronavirus surge prompts shutdowns and alarm</a></li></ul><p>The number of official cases is probably just a fraction of the actual number moreover, owing to variations in health policies and varied levels of testing capacity from one country to another.</p><p>Africa is now the only region where the COVID-19 pandemic is still on the rise, with a weekly increase of 30 percent, and it is at risk of a third wave of the disease.</p><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO: </strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1703413" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div><p>Globally, the number of COVID-19 cases declined for the sixth consecutive week, by 14 percent.</p><p>Almost seven out of every 10 new African cases were reported in five countries: Egypt, South Africa, Tunisia, Uganda and Zambia.</p><p>South Africa has technically begun a third wave according to its National Institute for Communicable Diseases.</p><p>Meanwhile, COVID-19 is now spreading faster in Zambia than anywhere else in the world, with a weekly gain of 147 percent, or 1,200 new cases a day.</p><p>South Africa has reported the highest number of contaminated people on the continent, with 1,722,086 cases.</p><p>Vaccination programs have struggled to make headway in Africa, with just 2.87 shots per 100 inhabitants, compared with a global average of 29.56 according to figures collected by AFP from official sources.</p><p>Last week, the World Health Organization (WHO) again pressed wealthy countries to share vaccine stocks, with Matshidiso Moeti, WHO&#x27;s director for Africa, calling it a question &quot;of life or death&quot;.</p><p>Members of the Group of Seven (G7) industrialized countries have pledged to distribute a billion doses of covid vaccines within the framework of the Covax facility, which has struggled to get them to poorer countries.</p><p>bur-cp/wai/yad</p><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div>

<p>Africa is now the only region where the COVID-19 pandemic is still on the rise, with a weekly increase of 30 percent, and it is at risk of a third wave of the disease.<br /> </p>

Africa is now the only region where the COVID-19 pandemic is still on the rise, with a weekly increase of 30 percent, and it is at risk of a third wave of the disease.