Cases of the new coronavirus are ramping up in Africa, with six new countries announcing confirmed infections in the past 24 hours, AP reports.

Across Africa, 16 of the continent's 54 countries have now registered COVID-19 cases. The majority of these cases are imported, authorities say.

African countries only began reporting cases in February, and most have been imported by travelers from Europe and the US. On Friday, Kenya, Guinea, Sudan and Ethiopia reported their first cases, while Gabon and Ghana did so late Thursday.