Addis Ababa, Aug 17 (IANS): The number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in Africa surged to 1,108,837 as the death toll rose to 25,337, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) revealed on Sunday.

The Africa CDC, a specialised healthcare agency of the African Union (AU) Commission, in its latest situation update issued on Sunday, said the number of people who recovered from their Covid-19 infections is also increasing, as the number of recoveries reached 823, 614 on Sunday, Xinhua reported.

South Africa currently has the most Covid-19 cases, which hit 583,653. The country also has the highest Covid-19 related deaths, with the death toll currently standing at 11,677, according to the Africa CDC.

Egypt comes next with 96,336 Covid-19 cases and 5,141 Covid-19 related deaths followed by Nigeria which has so far recorded 48,770 Covid-19 cases and 974 deaths.

The Southern Africa region is the most affected area in terms of confirmed cases, followed by Northern Africa and Western Africa regions, the Africa CDC said.

The Africa CDC also said nine African countries are reporting case fatality rates comparable to or higher than the global case fatality rate of 3.7 per cent.

These African countries include Sudan, Liberia, Niger, and Egypt.