The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday urged the African continent to brace itself for possible second wave COVID-19 infections.

According to Africa CDC, the number of confirmed cases in the African continent has reached 1,759,794.

The continental disease control and prevention agency said in a statement that the death toll related to the pandemic stood at 42,336 as of Friday afternoon.

A total of 1,438,841 people infected with COVID-19 have recovered across the continent so far, the Africa CDC said.

The most COVID-19 affected African countries in terms of the number of positive cases include South Africa, Morocco, Egypt, Ethiopia and Nigeria.

The Southern Africa region is the most COVID-19 affected region both in terms of the number of confirmed positive cases as well as the number of deaths.

The Northern Africa region is the second most COVID-19-affected African region, according to the Africa CDC.

Africa CDC Director, John Nkengasong, said “the time for the continent to prepare for the second wave is now.’’

The director, speaking during a virtual press conference on Thursday, said the continent has to prepare for a second wave of COVID-19 infections, as the number of new cases in several African countries is showing a slight increase.