The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Africa surpassed 6 million following an increase of 1 million cases within only about one month since June 12.
The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) in a statement said the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the continent reached 6,027,574 as of Wednesday afternoon.
Africa CDC said that the past week has seen a 43-percent jump in mortalities, with 5,197 new deaths recorded, pushing the death toll from the pandemic to 153,549 across the continent.
The upsurge of cases and mortalities has prompted many African countries to further tighten their preventive measures and accelerate the pace of vaccination, but challenges remain.
As Africa is grappling with a third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, South Africa, Morocco, Tunisia, Ethiopia and Egypt are the countries with the most cases in Africa, according to the Africa CDC.
Some African countries have reported that the upsurge in cases was largely driven by variants, including the highly transmissible Delta variant.
WHO Regional Office for Africa tweeted on Monday that at least 16 African countries have reported the appearance of the Delta variant, and the variant has been found to be 30 to 60 percent more transmissible than the other variants.
Battling a more severe wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, many African countries have once again tightened their preventive measures and accelerated their vaccination campaigns.
Sierra Leone reintroduced a one-month curfew nationwide and limited the number of people for social events from early July, while Botswana announced on Tuesday a decision to close schools from Friday till Aug. 16.
According to the latest figure from the Africa CDC, by July 8, some 52 African countries have acquired about 70.4 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, 53.3 million of which have been administered.
The WHO regional director for Africa urged governments and partners to expand vaccination sites, improve cold chain capabilities and embark on community-based awareness campaigns to boost COVID-19 jabs.
MG/abj/APA