The number of coronavirus-related deaths in Africa has surpassed the 136,000 mark as the continent amid fears of a worsening situation.

According to figures published by the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), Africa has recorded 136,030 virus-related deaths by Friday, from 5,108,888 cases registered.

The continent continues to lag behind in its mass vaccination drive, as only less than two percent of its population has been inoculated. People that have been fully vaccinated in Africa account for less than one percent.

In a media briefing earlier, the World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom said that the continent's situation is worsening.

"In Africa, COVID-19 cases have increased by 52 percent just in the past week, and deaths have increased by 32percent. And we expect things to only get worse," he said.

South Africa remains to be the hardest hit country by the pandemic on the continent, with 1,786,079 infections and 58,323 deaths.

Morocco's 525,443 cases make it the only other African country to have registered more than half a million COVID-19 infections.

10 countries on the continent – South Africa and Morocco included – have reported more than 100,000 COVID-19 cases.

Other than South Africa, only Egypt (15,760) and Tunisia (13,792) have recorded more than 10,000 virus-related fatalities.

In his briefing on Friday, Tedros reiterated pleas for vaccine sharing by high-income nations to ensure low-income countries are not left behind in the world's fight against COVID-19.