A prominent Afghan journalist died of COVID-19, an independent media safety group protecting reporters' rights, said on Monday.

"Dad Mohammad Onaby, editor-in-chief of (state-run) Islah Daily, passed away of COVID-19 and buried on Sunday," Xinhua news agency quoted the Afghan Journalists Safety Committee (AJSC) as saying in a statement.

His death has taken the number of media workers and reporters to die due to COVID-19 to seven.

Since the pandemic hit Afghanistan in February, a total of 34,451 people have been infected with COVID-19, while the death toll stood at 1,010.   (IANS)