The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases on the African continent hit 3,421,147 as of Sunday, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said.

According to the continental disease control and prevention agency's dashboard, the death toll related to the pandemic in Africa stood at 84,694 as of Sunday.

A total of 2,881,677 people infected with the virus have recovered across the continent so far, the African Union (AU) Commission's healthcare agency disclosed.

The Southern Africa region is the most impacted area in Africa in terms of the number of confirmed positive cases, followed by the Northern Africa region, according to the agency.

The most affected African countries in terms of the number of positive cases include South Africa, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, and Ethiopia, said the African Union (AU) Commission's specialized healthcare agency.

South Africa has reported the highest COVID-19-inflicted deaths in Africa, at 40,574 as of Sunday, according to the Africa CDC.

Meanwhile, John Nkengasong, Director of Africa CDC, on Friday stressed that the African continent is "in a critical phase of the pandemic."

"As economies reopen and travels resume, we must pay attention to the prevention of transmission, prevention of deaths and prevention of harm by carefully and cautiously opening our borders," an AU statement issued on Friday quoted the Africa CDC Director as saying.