The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said on Wednesday that the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases on the African continent hit 3,768,572 as of Wednesday. 

According to the continental disease control and prevention agency's Africa COVID-19 dashboard, the death toll related to the pandemic stood at 99,367 as of Wednesday noon.

A total of 3,317,207 people infected with COVID-19 have recovered across the continent so far, the agency disclosed.

The Southern Africa region is the most COVID-19 affected area in the continent in terms of the number of confirmed positive cases, followed by the Northern Africa region, according to the Africa CDC.

The most affected African countries in terms of the number of positive cases include South Africa, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, and Ethiopia, the agency said.

South Africa has also reported the highest COVID-19-inflicted deaths in Africa, at 48,313, according to the Africa CDC.

The African Union had recently emphasized that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic "is not just a severe health emergency, it is also a grave economic and social crisis."