The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases on the African continent stood at 3,515,047 as of Friday, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said.

According to the agency's dashboard, the death toll related to the pandemic in Africa was at 89,993 on Friday.

A total of 2,990,890 people infected with COVID-19 have recovered across the continent.

Southern Africa is the most affected region 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.

South Africa has reported the highest COVID-19-inflicted deaths in Africa, at 43,105 as of Friday, according to the Africa CDC.

On Thursday, the Africa CDC emphasized the crucial need to intensify COVID-19 testing and tracing so as to effectively contain transmission across the continent.

"Testing is the number one tool to fight this pandemic because without testing we will be fighting blindly," a statement quoted John Nkengasong, director of the Africa CDC, as saying.

"We also need to trace people who are infected, isolate them and treat them," the director said. "By supporting AU (African Union) member states to do more testing and tracing to identify and isolate infected persons, we will be able to control the virus and limit transmission."