More than five million people have contracted the Covid-19 virus in Africa since it emerged in China in late 2019, data compiled by AFP from official sources showed.

A total of 5,008,656 cases of the coronavirus have been reported in 54 countries and territories, including almost 109,800 in the past seven days, for a daily average of 15,680.

More than 134,000 people have died, and the daily average of around 320 represents an increase of 16 percent from the comparable figure a week ago.

The number of official cases is probably just a fraction of the actual number moreover, owing to variations in health policies and varied levels of testing capacity from one country to another.