Africa's COVID-19 cases top 2.75 mln as death toll exceeds 65,480: Africa CDC

ADDIS ABABA, Jan. 1 (Xinhua) -- The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the African continent has reached 2,759,313 as of Friday, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said.

The continental disease control and prevention agency said in a statement that the death toll from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has reached 65,480 as of Friday evening.

The Africa CDC, specialized healthcare agency of the African Union (AU) Commission, also said that a total of 2,289,156 people infected with COVID-19 had recovered from the infectious virus across the continent so far.

The most affected African countries in terms of the number of positive cases include South Africa, Morocco, Egypt, Tunisia and Ethiopia, figures from the Africa CDC showed.

South Africa has the highest number of confirmed positive COVID-19 cases, at 1,057,161. The country also has the highest COVID-19-inflicted deaths at 28,469, according to the Africa CDC.

Meanwhile, the Africa CDC on Thursday emphasized the need for COVID-19 precautions to contain the virus amid an ongoing second wave of the pandemic.

"With the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic affecting Africa, now more than ever, it is important that we all adhere to public health and social measures to protect our health and the health of our friends, family, and loved ones this holiday season," the Africa CDC said in a statement issued on Thursday.