Addis Ababa, Aug 30 (IANS): The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) on Saturday said that the number of positive Covid-19 cases across the African continent has reached 1,228,971 amid rapid spread of the virus in a few African countries.

The Africa CDC, noting that five African countries account for about 72 per cent of all Covid-19 infections in the continent, also stressed that the death toll from the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic rose to 29,087 on Saturday, Xinhua reported.

The African Union (AU) Commission's specialized healthcare agency also said that some 960,926 people who were infected with Covid-19 had recovered across the continent so far.

Amid the rapid spread of the virus across the continent, South Africa alone accounts for about 50 per cent of all Covid-19 infections in the continent, followed by Egypt which has eight percent of all Covid-19 infections in the continent, the Africa CDC said earlier this week.

According to the Africa CDC, the southern Africa region is the most affected area in terms of confirmed cases, followed by northern Africa and western Africa regions.