COVID-19 cases in Africa surpass 70,000

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia

Coronavirus cases in Africa rose to 72,336 as the tiny enclave state of Lesotho in Southern Africa reported its first infection, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday.

The death toll in the continent has risen to 2,475 while the number of recoveries have reached 25,270.

North Africa continues to be the hardest-hit of the five geographic regions in terms of number of cases with 24,300 followed by West Africa 21,500, Southern Africa 13,000, East Africa 7,100 and Central Africa 6,500.

In terms of death toll, North Africa has 1,300, West 452, Central 247, Southern Africa 238 and East Africa 222.

More than 9,500 patients in North Africa, 6,300 in West, 5,000 in Southern Africa, 2,500 in East and 2,000 in Central Africa have recovered.

South Africa recorded 12,100 cases and Egypt 10,400 but the death toll in Egypt is much higher -- 556 -- than South Africa’s 219.

In West Africa, Nigeria and Burkina Faso have the highest 164 and 51 deaths, respectively, while in East Africa Sudan and Somalia suffered from fatalities the most at 90 and 52, respectively.

In Central Africa, Cameroon recorded 125 COVID-19-related fatalities while DRC 50.