COVID-19 cases near 1.3M in Africa

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia

The number of people who have contracted the novel coronavirus in Africa has reached 1.29 million, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said on Monday.

At least 31,283 people have died of the virus across the continent, while over a million patients have recovered, it said in its daily update.

South Africa, the hardest-hit African country, recorded 1,633 new virus infections on Sunday, bringing the nationwide caseload to 638,517, the health minister announced.

Zweli Mkhize said the nation also registered 110 new virus-related deaths, pushing the tally to 14,889.

Last week, John Nkengasong, the head of Africa CDC, said the continent registered an 82% recovery rate, along with a downward trend in the rate of new infections.

Meanwhile, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed asked the citizens to continue following precautionary measures ahead of their upcoming New Year celebrations on Sept. 11. "...let us meet the challenge by keeping healthy," he tweeted.