ADDIS ABABA, May 5 (Xinhua) -- African countries have conducted 105,579,387 COVID-19 tests so far, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said Thursday.
The Africa CDC, the specialized healthcare agency of the African Union, said in its latest weekly briefing held Thursday that 427,942 new tests were conducted during the past one week.
The newly conducted tests represent a three percent decrease from the previous week when 481,760 tests were reported, it was noted.
The cumulative continental positivity rate so far stands at 11 percent, according to the agency.
According to the Africa CDC, some 36 African countries are reporting a Case Fatality Rate (CFR) higher than the global average of 1.2 percent while two countries that are Somalia and Sudan are reporting a CFR higher than 5 percent.
It said 53 African countries have experienced the third COVID-19 wave, while 37 countries have experienced a more severe third wave.
As of Wednesday evening, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Africa had reached 11,458,664 with 252,197 deaths and 10,818,872 recoveries, according to the agency.
In terms of the caseload, southern Africa is the most affected region, followed by the northern and eastern parts of the continent, while central Africa is the least affected region in the continent, according to the Africa CDC. ■