Virus cases surge in Africa as third wave gains pace: WHO

Coronavirus infections in Africa are surging as a third wave of the pandemic gathers pace on the continent, fuelled by the spread of more contagious variants, the World Health Organization said on Thursday, report agencies.

"Africa is in the midst of a full-blown third wave. The sobering trajectory of surging cases should rouse everyone into urgent action," WHO's regional director for Africa, Matshidiso Moeti, told an online news conference.

According to WHO data, the number of new Covid-19 cases in Africa rose to over 116,500 in the week ending June 13, up from nearly 91,000 the previous week.

In 22 African countries, cases rose by more than 20 per cent in the week to June 13, with the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Namibia and Uganda reporting their highest number of new weekly cases since the pandemic began.

Another report adds: The COVID-19 pandemic is spiralling out of control in Afghanistan, with cases rising 2,400 percent in the past month, hospitals filling up and medical resources quickly running out, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said on Thursday.

More than a third of tests last week came back positive, the IFRC said.

"Afghanistan is at a crisis point in the battle to contain COVID-19 as hospital beds are full to capacity in the capital Kabul and in many areas," said Nilab Mobarez, Acting President of the Afghan Red Crescent Society, in a statement released by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

The surge was putting intense strain on a country where millions already live in poverty and health resources are scarce.

Meanwhile, the global Covid-19 caseload neared 178 million, with the world still struggling to contain the second outbreak of the virus.

The total caseload and fatalities from the virus stand at 177,937,763 and 3,851,299, respectively, as of Thursday morning, as per the latest data released by Worldometers.

More than 2.47 billion doses have been administered across 180 countries, according to data collected by Bloomberg. The latest rate was roughly 35.7 million doses a day.