JOHANNESBURG • The coronavirus has been slower to take hold in Africa than on other continents, according to the numbers released daily by the World Health Organisation (WHO). But blazing hot spots are beginning to emerge.

South Africa reported 1,160 new coronavirus infections on Sunday, the highest daily number since the first case was recorded in March. The Health Ministry on Sunday said the total number of confirmed Covid-19 cases is 15,515 with 1,160 new cases identified in the last 24-hour cycle of testing.

Africa's most industrialised economy has the highest numbers of cases in Africa, followed by Egypt, which has recorded 11,719 cases, including 612 deaths.

Meanwhile, in the northern Nigerian city of Kano, some people say they now get four or five death notices on their phones each day. The gravediggers of the city, one of the biggest in West Africa, say they are working overtime. And so many doctors and nurses have been infected with the virus that few hospitals are now accepting patients.

Officially, Kano had reported 753 cases and 33 deaths attributed to the virus as of last Friday. But in reality, the metropolis is experiencing a major, unchecked outbreak, doctors and health experts say.

In Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, officials say burials have tripled. More than 1,200 people have tested positive in the country and, officially, 53 have died. But doctors, officials and humanitarian workers think these numbers are way off.

In Tanzania, after cases suddenly rose and the US Embassy issued a health alert, the government abruptly stopped releasing its data. A government spokesman told the BBC testing has been suspended while the authorities investigate the many testing kits.

From the numbers gathered by the WHO and other groups, Djibouti, in East Africa, looks as if it has the highest infection rate per capita on the continent, at 1 in 746 people. But public health officials attribute that to aggressive testing and contact tracing. Anyone who tests positive is hospitalised, even if no symptoms are apparent.

NYTIMES, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE