Africa records another 15,147 new COVID-19 cases, 693 deaths

Africa saw 15,147 new COVID-19 cases and 693 deaths over the past 24 hours, says an update published by the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) Monday.

Compared to the number of new cases registered over the weekend in Africa, it showed a significant decrease of 3,318 cases (Saturday's daily tally stood at 18,465).

The total caseload so far, according to the update, is over 8 million, while the death toll has reached 303,603 across the continent.

Of the five geographical regions, Southern Africa recorded more than 3.8 million cases, North Africa 2.4 cases, East Africa 941,000, West Africa 626,800, and Central Africa 225,500.

The continent of 1.3 billion people is still grappling with an acute shortage of vaccine supply as the number of vaccinated people remains less than 3%, the Africa CDC said, adding the need to boost access to vaccines remains critical.

The total number of vaccines supplied to the continent so far remained 144.5 million, of which 111.3 million have been administered.