ADDIS ABABA, July 15 (Xinhua) -- The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases across the African continent reached 612,586 as of Wednesday morning, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said.

The Africa CDC in its latest situation update issued on Wednesday said that the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases across the continent rose from 594,841 on Tuesday morning to 612,586 as of Wednesday morning.

The continental disease control and prevention agency also disclosed that the death toll from the pandemic surged to 13,519 as of the stated period. The Africa CDC further said that 307,069 patients who tested positive for COVID-19 have so far recovered from the infectious virus.

Amid the rapid spread of the virus across the continent, the highly affected African countries in terms of positive cases include South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria, Ghana, Algeria, Morocco, and Cameroon.

The Africa CDC also said that the Southern Africa region is now the most affected area across the continent in terms of positive COVID-19 cases, followed by the North Africa region.

The West Africa region is the third most affected area in terms of positive cases, followed by the Eastern and Central Africa regions, respectively.