Africa's COVID-19 deaths hit 185,706 as infections continue to rise

FILE PHOTO: A security guard opens the door for a customer exiting Awolowo glass house in Lagos, Nigeria, on Monday, March 29, 2021. (Adetona Omokanye/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Africa's number of coronavirus-related deaths reached 185,706 on Wednesday as the continent ramps us its vaccination efforts.

According to the latest data by the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) 7,354,862 infections have been reported on the continent, with some countries experiencing a third wave of the pandemic.

South Africa remains to be the hardest-hit country by the pandemic, having registered 2,624,254 cases with 77,993 fatalities.

The country accounts for 35.68 percent of the continent’s caseload and 41.99 percent of its deaths.

South Africa's caseload dwarfs the number of infections recorded by Morocco, whose 772,394 cases are the second-highest in Africa. The North African country has also reported 11,242 virus-related fatalities.

Besides the two, six other countries on the continent have recorded more than 200,000 COVID-19 infections.

A total of four African countries – South Africa and Morocco included – have registered more than 10,000 COVID-19 deaths.

COVID-19 vaccine shipments to Africa have ramped up. Nearly 12 million doses were distributed through the COVAX facility in July, more than the doses received in April, May and June combined. In August, the African Union, began the delivery of some 220 million doses of the Johnson Johnson vaccine to member states. With this, 6.4 million doses are expected to be shipped in August, with a target of delivering about 50 million vaccines by the end of December.

Health authorities hope the increase in vaccinations will translate to a slower spread of the virus on the continent.