The death toll from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic on the African continent reached 962 as the number of confirmed cases hit 18,333 as of Friday, the Africa Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said.

The Africa CDC, a specialized agency of the 55-member African Union (AU) Commission, in its latest situation update issued on Friday also revealed that the number of confirmed positive cases across the continent rose from 17,247 on Thursday to 18,333 as of Friday afternoon.

The virus has so far spread into 52 African countries, it was noted.

Figures from the Africa CDC also show that amid the rapid spread of the virus across the continent, the highly COVID-19 affected African countries include Egypt with 2,673 confirmed cases, South Africa with 2,605 confirmed cases, Algeria with 2,268 confirmed cases, as well as Morocco with 2,283 confirmed cases.

The death toll due to the COVID-19 pandemic across the African continent also surged from 910 on Thursday to 962 on Friday afternoon, according to the Africa CDC.

The continental disease control and prevention agency also said that some 4,352 people who had been infected with the COVID-19 have recovered.

The Africa CDC also disclosed that the Northern African region is the most affected area across the continent both in terms of positive COVID-19 cases, as well as the number of deaths.

The Northern African countries have so far registered more than 8,100 positive COVID-19 cases as well as 713 deaths due to the pandemic, according to the Africa CDC.

According to the Africa CDC, the three Northern African countries Algeria, Egypt and Morocco also registered 348, 196, and 130 COVID-19-related deaths respectively.

John Nkengasong, Africa CDC Director, told a virtual press conference on Friday the crucial need to strengthen COVID-19 precautionary measures across the continent so as to halt the spread of the virus.

"Movement restrictions imposed by countries may be inconveniencing and may have socio-economic effects, but the long-term gains are incomparable. It will save lives and help bring this pandemic to an end quicker," the Africa CDC director stressed.