ADDIS ABABA, Dec. 26 (Xinhua) -- The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the African continent reached 2,623,086 as of Saturday, as the death toll from the COVID-19 pandemic reached 61,954, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said.
A total of 2,194,385 people infected with COVID-19 have recovered across the continent as of Saturday afternoon, the continental disease control and prevention agency said.
The most affected African countries in terms of the number of positive cases include South Africa, Morocco, Egypt, Tunisia and Ethiopia, respectively, figures from the Africa CDC showed.
The southern Africa region is the most affected region both in terms of the number of confirmed positive cases and the number of deaths, it noted. The Northern Africa region is the second most affected region.
South Africa currently has the most COVID-19 cases, which hit 983,359. The country also has the highest number of deaths related to COVID-19, at 26,276.
Meanwhile, the Africa CDC has urged African countries to reinforce COVID-19 testing, contact tracing and early treatment of cases as the continent seeks to gain more insight about the new variant of SARS-CoV-2.
"Coincidentally, the news of the variant has come when the continent is also experiencing a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, Africa CDC advises that member states reinforce their efforts to increase testing, contact tracing and early treatment of cases," the Africa CDC said in a situation report issued earlier this week.
The Africa CDC, however, stressed that "there is no immediate need to restrict trade and travel across the continent because travelers across the continent now require a negative virologic test (PCR or Antigen test) before they can travel."