COVID-19: 43 African countries have closed their borders as the continent record over 200,000 cases

The number of recoveries also stands at 114,308.

As the COVID-19 caseload goes up, 43 African countries have fully closed their borders due to the rapid spread of the virus.

The Africa CDC indicated that northern African countries are the most affected on the continent both in terms of positive COVID-19 cases and the number of deaths.

The specialized healthcare agency of the African Union (AU) Commission said the highly affected African countries include South Africa, Egypt, Morocco, Djibouti, Nigeria, and Algeria.

Egypt for instance recorded 1,677 new cases on Saturday, the highest daily surge so far, raising the national count to 42,980.

The country has also seen a record single-day increase of 62 in COVID-19 deaths, increasing the death toll to 1,484.

Ethiopia also recorded 286 cases on Saturday, the highest daily increase so far, taking the country’s tally to 3,166.

South Africa, has also recorded 73,553 cases with 1,568 deaths and 39,867 recoveries.

The increase in numbers has encouraged most African countries to close their borders. 35 African countries have also activated night-time curfew to curb the spread of the disease.

Some seven countries have imposed international air traffic closures, while two countries have imposed travel restrictions to and from specific countries, and two others have also activated entry/exit restrictions, according to the Africa CDC.

Africa CDC added that some countries still allow cargo, freight, and emergency transport into and out of their respective countries, and others also allow their citizens and residents to enter, but all borders are essentially closed.

It further stated that 54 African countries are practicing limited public gathering, 38 countries have closed down educational institutions, while limited prison and hospital visits has been also ordered across 20 countries.