The number of COVID-19 infections in Africa has surpassed the eight million mark as the continent ramps up vaccination efforts.

According to data published the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) on Saturday afternoon, the continent had recorded 8,008,802 confirmed cases with 202,534 deaths.

South Africa remains to be the hardest-hit country by the pandemic on the continent, with 2,848,925 cases and 84,608 fatalities.

The country accounts for 35.57 percent of the continent's infections and 41.77 percent of its fatalities.

Only two more African countries have registered more than 500,000 COVID-19 infections; Morocco (899,581) and Tunisia (683,700).

Tunisia's 24,158 deaths are the second-highest in Africa.

Besides South Africa and Tunisia, two other countries on the continent have reported more than 10,000 virus-related deaths; Egypt (16,847) and Morocco (13,436).

Various countries have bolstered their mass vaccination efforts aimed at containing the spread of the virus.

While Africa continues to lag behind the rest of the world in vaccination statistics, a recent upsurge in vaccine arrivals has raised hope that the continent will catch up in due course.