Africa Surpasses One Million Coronavirus Infections

(Bloomberg) --

Africa surpassed one million coronavirus infections, accounting for about 5% of global cases, on Friday, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

Health officials have recorded 1,007,366 confirmed cases, 22,066 deaths and 690,436 recoveries since the virus reached the continent in February, according to the Ethiopia-based organization. The real number is likely to be higher as most nations don’t have widespread testing and contact-tracing programs. Tanzania has stopped publishing infection data altogether.

Feedback from 41 out of 47 countries surveyed indicated that about 35,000 healthcare workers have been infected, Matshidiso Moeti, the World Health Organization’s regional director for Africa, said at a briefing Thursday.

South Africa, which has done the most testing on the continent, is the worst-affected country, with 538,184 confirmed cases and 9,604 deaths.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.