South Africa is no longer among the five countries most affected by coronavirus, according to the World Health Organization.

Peru now has the fifth highest number of confirmed Covid-19 cases, with 663,437 reported by Wednesday.

South Africa, which accounts for half of all the cases confirmed in Africa, has had 630,595 cases.

Although South Africa is still the hardest hit country in Africa, it has experienced a sustained decline in new cases for the past six weeks.

South Africa has been reporting fewer new cases daily compared to Peru in recent days.

The death toll in Peru is also higher at 29,259 compared to South Africa’s 14,263.

Total cases in Africa have been on a downward trend for about a month, although it is too early to celebrate, says Africa Centres for Disease Control head John Nkengasong.

Over the past month, there has been an overall 14% decrease in the number of new cases being reported each week on the continent.