Coronavirus: Rolling coverage on the impact on Africa

The coronavirus was confirmed in the Chinese city of Wuhan on January 7, 2020. Cases have since been confirmed in over 80 countries across the globe.

The World Health Organisation, WHO, has since declared it a public health emergency of international dimensions. WHO chief Tedros Ghebereyesus said whiles China had a robust health system to detect and control, his outfit remained concerned about the virus entering country’s with weak systems.

Almost all African governments have publicly put in place strict screening at points of entry especially airports. Cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt, Senegal and Nigeria. African airlines have cancelled scheduled flights to China except for Ethiopian Airlines.

Coronaviruses are a family of viruses that range from the common cold to MERS coronavirus, which is Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus and SARS, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus.

In this article, we will share the latest developments as authorities implement measures to contain the spread of the virus, especially on the African continent. Uganda earlier this week returned some travellers who refused ti be quarantined upon arrival in the country.

SUGGESTED READING: rolling coverage of the coronavirus outbreak in Africa- Liberia and Tanzania confirm index cases

• Eritrea imposes travel ban
• Ethiopia cases up to 5, govt issues directives
• Cameroon confirms fifth case
• Ghana announces social shutdown
• South Africa issues visa ban, shut borders, close schools
• 26 African countries infected as of March 15
• Number of cases rise in Kenya, Ghana, South Africa, Rwanda, Ethiopia
• Nigeria clears all index case contacts
• Ethiopia records first case
• Kenya, Ghana, Gabon record first cases
• Tunisia announced six more cases
• Senegal confirms local transmission
• DRC records second case
• Kenya bans all public gatherings
• South Africa reduces tally by 1, now 16
• Senegal is rolling out a testing kit
• Algeria closes all schools after first death
• Ghana allocates $100m coronavirus fund
• South Africa cases up to 17
• Ivory Coast records first case
• South Africa evacuation jet leaves
• Uganda to spray high-risk travellers
• South Africa cases hit 13
• Ghana, Gabon ban official travel
• DRC records index case
• Patient in Morocco dies, 2nd death in Africa
• Rwanda steps up prevention measures
• Suspected patient missing in Zimbabwe
• South Africa’s cases up to seven
• Nigeria records second case
• Egypt records first coronavirus death

Rolling coverage of coronavirus outbreak in Africa

COVID-19 LIVE updates, WHO website

Index cases in Benin, Liberia, Tanzania; Eritrea issues travel ban

Benin has reported its first coronavirus case. A statement by government said the patient was a 49 year-old Burkinabe citizen who entered the country last week, March 12.

The government said the patient had been isolated and contact tracing was underway. It also advised the public to observe strict hygiene to ensure that they are protected. Benin is the ninth West African country to record a case.

The government had weeks back set aside 7 billion CFA for intervention purposes. Togo’s index case had crossed into the country using the land border with Benin.

Liberia confirmed first coronavirus case which was imported by a government official who recently returned from Switzerland. The head of Liberia’s environmental protection agency is currently in isolation, whiles contact tracing is underway.

In an address after the confirmation, president George Weah called for concerted efforts to combat COVID19 virus including observing good personal hygiene. He stressed that government will do all it takes to ensure that citizens are safe.

Currently in West Africa only Sierra Leone, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, The Gambia, Mali, Niger – are uninfected

Over in Tanzania, Health Minister confirmed the first case of a Tanzanian woman who only returned to the country yesterday. She is in isolation at a government hospital, local media outlets report.

#Tanzania confirms index case of #coronavirus
- Patient is a citizen who arrived in the country yesterday
- Isolated at a hospital
- Within the region Kenya has 3 cases, Rwanda has 5
- Prez had canceled Uhuru torch race due to #COVID19

Africa updates: https://t.co/A0dGVHYoYm https://t.co/cZlrD1oOCV

— Abdur Rahman Alfa Shaban (@AlfaAfrican) March 16, 2020

Eritrea’s Ministry of Health also issued additional guidelines to all nationals & expatriates residing in the country. They have not recorded any case yet even though neighbours Sudan and Eritrea have one and five cases respectively.

The guidelines basically bans all travels within and outside of the country.

1. Every person should refrain from internal & foreign travel unless this is for extremely urgent & unavoidable purposes;
2. Every person must avoid, in as much as this is possible, public gatherings;
3. Foreign travel from & to Eritrea has diminished significantly on the basis of the MoH guidelines issued last week. This will be bolstered further henceforth to fully restrict travel from, and to, Eritrea except in urgent & unavoidable circumstances

Cameroon’s fifth case, Ghana starts shutdown

“We have just registered a 5th confirmed case that night in Yaoundé. He is a person returning from France. Like the others, he was immediately taken care of.

“Let us continue to mobilize and follow the prescribed hygiene measures,” a top official of Cameroon’s Health Ministry confirmed on Monday. The development comes hours after the fourth case was confirmed.

Meanwhile in Ghana, the government announced a raft of measures that effectively put the West African country on lockdown. Ghana has six confirmed cases as at Sunday March 15.

The measures imposed in Ghana are akin to what Senegal, Rwanda, Kenya and South Africa have put in place. Ban on public gatherings, closure of schools and other public places and a big emphasis on preventive measures.

. NAkufoAddo - “Public gatherings including conferences, sporting events, funerals and religious gatherings suspended for the next four weeks...”? pic.twitter.com/QRImBUAbpU

— Juliet Bawuah (julietbawuah) March 15, 2020

Case rise in six countries as govts react

Rwanda announced has confirmed four more cases bring its total to five after the index case was reported on Saturday. The cases involved three Rwandans and a Ugandan.

Ghana had reported four new cases bringing the tally to six. The West African nation announced first two cases last Thursday. The government also announced a travel ban for persons from countries that had 200 or more coronavirus cases.

In Kenya, president Uhuru Kenyatta disclosed at a press conference on Sunday that two new cases had been confirmed. Government announced a raft of measures including ban on public gatherings.

Senegal’s Health Ministry in its daily updates disclosed that two cases had been confirmed bringing the total number of cases to 26 out of which two have recovered and the remaining still undergoing treatment.

Ethiopian authorities said contact tracing associated with the index case led to 117 persons out of which three tested positive. They are two Japanese and an Ethiopian. The index patient was a Japanese.

South Africa’s confirmed case toll hits 61 leading to a raft of stringent measures imposed by government. South Africa, Kenya, Rwanda, Senegal have all banned public gatherings in order to curb the outbreak.

South Africa announces raft of measures

President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa on Sunday evening announced a raft of measures after a cabinet meeting that was dedicated to the coronavirus. South Africa’s infection toll is now at 61.

Below are some measures announced:

• Declaration of a state of disaster, which will allow for disaster management to reduce and mitigate impact.
• Travel ban on heavily affected countries as from 18 March. Visas from the affected countries have been cancelled. SA citizens have been advised not to travel to this destinations.
• Any foreign nationals who have been to the said destinations will be denied entry. Travelers from medium risk countries would have to undergo an intensive screening process.
• Effective March 16, government will shut down 55 land entry points and two sea ports of entry will be shut down.
• Cabinet has decided to prohibit gathering of more than 100 people. Upcoming national days been canceled. Organizers of small events will have to put in place robust hygienic controls.
• Schools will be closed from Wednesday until after Easter Holidays. In turn, the mid year holidays will be shortened. Higher education Ministry conferring with universities and colleges on line of action.
• Visits to correctional services (prisons) are cancelled for the next 30 days.

He also addressed extensively the impact of the virus on the country’s economy and cautioned against the spread of misinformation which could even worsen the already panicky situation the virus has thrown up.

What are coronaviruses?

.embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; }

Over half of Africa infected

Africa is seeing a steady spread of the coronavirus across the continent, with five new countries confirming cases on Saturday, so that 26 of Africa’s 54 countries have COVID-19 patients.

Eswatini, Equatorial Guinea, Mauritania, Namibia and Rwanda reported their first cases Saturday. All were brought to the continent by travelers from overseas, as with almost all the other cases reported in Africa, according to health authorities.

African governments and health officials are racing to try to contain the spread of the new virus on the continent of 1.3 billion people. If the disease spreads locally within the continent, health officials warn that several countries with fragile health systems could see higher mortality rates.

Namibia, which confirmed two cases of people who arrived from Spain, canceled its independence celebrations planned for March 21. The funds that were to have been spent on the independence festivities will now be used to fight the further spread of the coronavirus, said officials.

President Hage Geingob will be sworn into a second term of office, but all other large gatherings have been suspended for the next 30 days. Flights linking Namibia to and from Qatar, Ethiopia and Germany have been suspended for 30 days.

In response to two cases it confirmed on Saturday, Mauritania closed schools for a week, reduced border crossing points, placed a ban on public gatherings and called for travelers from countries at risk to voluntarily confine themselves at home.

As at Sunday March 15, the African case tally is as follows:

• Egypt
• Algeria
• South Africa
• Tunisia
• Senegal
• Morocco
• Cameroon
• Burkina Faso
• Nigeria
• Togo
• DR Congo
• Congo
• Seychelles
• Rwanda
• Central African Republic
• Namibia
• Sudan
• Mauritania
• Eswatini
• Kenya
• Guinea
• Ghana
• Gabon
• Ivory Coast
• Ethiopia
• Republic of Congo

Nigeria clears all index case contacts

Today, Nigeria’s Health Minister announced that all contacts of the index case of COVID19 in Nigeria have completed their follow up period, and have been certified free to rejoin society. The case was of an Italian who flew into the country on Turkish Airline.

The Minister also disclosed that the index case’s health situation is improving. His Medical Team advises further tests early next week to guide the decision to discharge him.

“The WHO has now declared COVID19 as a pandemic. This is a call for action for increased resources to quickly detect and control this outbreak. It is not a time for fear and panic. We are investing resources to strengthen Nigeria’s response,” Minister Osagie Ohanire added.

Ethiopia records index case

In Ethiopia, the Health Ministry announced the first case with a heavy dose of precautionary measures. “Let’s step up & maintain precautionary measures. NOW IS THE TIME. Frequent hand washing is key!” the confirmation tweet read.

According to the Ministry, the Ethiopia Public Health Institute, EPHI confirmed the positive COVID19 case. The person found positive is a 48-year-old Japanese citizen who came to Ethiopia on March 4, 2020, from Burkina Faso.

“Ethiopia has put in place a disease surveillance program since the outbreak of COVID-19 in China,” the Ministry added. Ethiopia is only the second East African country to be infected after Kenya early on Friday recorded their index case.

Update: According to EPHIEthiopia, the patient is a 48 year old #Japanese who arrived in #AddisAbeba on March 04. His first destination was #Japan & he traveled via #BurkinaFaso before arriving in Addis.

He was tested for virus yesterday & was subsequently confirmed positive.

— Addis Standard (addisstandard) March 13, 2020

Ghana, Gabon, Kenya record cases

A busy coronavirus day across the continent, three countries have recorded index cases of the disease. Ghana in West Africa, Gabon in Central Africa and Kenya in East Africa.

Read more on Gabon, Kenya, Ghana record first cases

Fifteen African countries currently infected – the regional breakdown and impacted countries are as follows:

• West Africa = Ghana, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Togo, Senegal
• East Africa = Kenya
• Central Africa = DR Congo, Cameroon
• Southern Africa = South Africa
• North Africa = Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria

South Africa cases down by one

An error in reporting one case means South Africa’s tally of 17 is down to 16. The case in Free State province which authorities described as the free local transmission turned out negative.

The three news cases according to the disease control outfit were as follows: 38-year-old male from Turkey who is visiting his mother in Kwazulu Natal. A 27-year-old female from Mpumalanga who had traveled to the United States of America and a 43-year-old male from Gauteng who had traveled to Dubai and New York.

South Africa is Sub-Saharn Africa’s most impacted country. Others with cases include Nigeria, Cameroon, DR Congo, Senegal, Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast.

We humbly apologise for the error in reporting the first case of local transmission of #COVID19 in our earlier report. On Verification, the case was found to be negative. As of 12 March 16 persons have tested positive for #COVID1916.

— NICD (@nicd_sa) March 12, 2020

Algeria shuts down schools

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune on Thursday (March 12) ordered the shutting down of schools nationwide after the country recorded new coronavirus cases and one death.

The measure is part of efforts to prevent the spread of the pandemic. The closure will be in place till April 5 according to a statement from the presidency.

The measure affects all institutions be they public or private from primary schools, crèches, vocational training centres, universities, and koranic schools.

Algeria recorded its first death and the third on the continent. The deceased is a 67-year-old man died in hospital in Blida, south of Algiers. The country’s confirmed cases increased by four to 24 on today.

Senegal medical institute to roll out testing kits

Senegal’s infectious diseases outfit, Institute Pasteur de Dakar, is set to roll out a coronavirus testing kit, its head Dr Amaduo Sall has confirmed.

Dr Sall said the infrastructure to build the kits will be ready in two weeks’ time and they will probably launch them in June, the BBC Africa Live page reports.

The kit when released will be a game changer in diagnosing persons with the deadly disease. The Quartz Africa site reports that the current testing process done strictly by laboratories takes up to a day to give results.

Conversely, the kits being developed in Dakar should turn out results within 10 minutes. Currently only a handful of countries across Africa do not have testing capability. Senegal currently has seven confirmed cases of the coronavirus.

The WHO Africa Region and African Union’s Center for Disease Control, in weeks back boosted testing capabilities and continue to train countries on effective test practices.

What is a pandemic?

The WHO on Wednesday declared the coronavirus a pandemic. Prior to the announcement, it was an epidemic following a declaration that it was an health issue of international concern back in February. Clue of what a pandemic is: It is worse than an epidemic. …Find out more in this Euronews report. .embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; }

South Africa records more cases, Ghana sets up $200m

Authorities in South Africa have recorded four new case bringing the total tally as at March 12 to 17. The new cases span different provinces: Free State, Kwa Zulu Natal, Guateng and Mpumalanga.

In the case of the Free State patient, the disease control outfit noted: “A 32 year old male who came into contact with a Chinese businessman. This is the first case of local transmission as all others have been by patients who had travelled abroad.”

Meanwhile, a government evacuation of citizens from Wuhan is underway with the special evacuation team heading back to South Africa with 122 people who voluntarily opted to be returned. They are to be quarantined upon their arrival.

Today, 12 March 2020, South Africa now has 17 confirmed cases of COVID-19. This is an additional 4 cases from yesterday.

— NICD (@nicd_sa) March 12, 2020

Meanwhile the Ghana government yesterday announced a $100 million fund to combat the coronavirus outbreak. The announcement was made in an address by President Nanan Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

Ghana is surrounded by neighbours all of whom have recorded cases. Togo was the first to record a case last week while Burkina Faso earlier this week recorded two. Ivory Coast recorded a case yesterday in the capital Abidjan.

Togo is Ghana’s eastern neighbour, Burkina Faso is to the north and Ivory Coast to the West. To the south, the country is bordered by the Gulf of Guinea.

Ivory Coast records index case

Ivory Coast have recorded its index case of coronavirus according to multiple reports in the West African country. The case was reported in the capital Abidjan.

The country becomes the fifth in the region to record a case after Nigeria, Senegal, Togo and Burkina Faso. Elsewhere on the continent, Cameroon, DR Congo and South Africa have recorded cases.

Ivory Coast back in January were the first country to record a suspected case which turned out negative. The country like many others received testing capacity from the World Health Organization, WHO.

Uganda to spray high-risk travellers

Ugandan authorities have announced new measures as part of processes to keep out the coronavirus.
Travelers arriving in Uganda will soon be “sprayed with a disinfectant – head to toe; according to the health minister.

All travellers arriving from 16 high risk countries; will be quarantined for 14 days – a measure aimed at preventing the importation, reports have stated.

Uganda joins DRC on the list of countries enforcing quarantine for certain category of travellers. Eritrea has also announced that similar measures are to be implemented.

South Africa’s Wuhan evacuation underway

The process to repatriate 122 South Africans living in Wuhan, China – the epicentre of the Covid-19 outbreak – was triggered on Tuesday night. setting in motion a series of phases to ensure they arrive in South Africa safely and healthy on Friday morning.

Speaking to Bongani Bingwa on Talk Radio 702 on Wednesday morning, GCIS acting Director General Phumla Williams assured listeners that passengers will be tested for Covid-19 continually.

Williams said that the plane, which left from OR Tambo International Airport on Tuesday night, will stop over in the Philippines to refuel before proceeding to Wuhan.

The President CyrilRamaphosa hugely impressed with all officials stationed at O.R Tambo International Airport #Coronavirusupdate pic.twitter.com/rkJp5L7yXY

— Dr Zweli Mkhize (DrZweliMkhize) March 10, 2020

South Africa records spike in cases

The disease control outfit in South Africa on Wednesday confirmed that the country has recorded six new cases bringing the total to 13.

South Africa is the only country in southern Africa to record a case of the deadly virus which has affected others in West Africa, Central Africa and all of North Africa with the exception of Libya.

Ghana, Gabon impose temporal ban on foreign travel

Meanwhile, the Ghana and Gabon governments have announced a temporal ban on official travel over the virus. A statement from Ghana’s presidency said only essential travel will be okayed for the mean time. The notice was addressed to all government ministries, departments and agencies .

In the case of Gabon, the speaker of parliament Faustin Boukoubi announced the suspension of all foreign trips by lawmakers.

A memo sent to the lawmakers said all travel on behalf of the assembly had been suspended until further notice. Gabon’s neighbour Cameroon has two recorded cases of the virus, Libreville closed their common border over the weekend as a precautionary measure.

Ghana on the other hand has two of her neighbours having recorded cases. Togo recorded its index case last week whiles Burkina Faso recorded two cases on Monday, March 10.

DRC records index case, Morocco records death

The Democratic Republic of Congo has reported recording its index case of coronavirus. The patient is a Belgian national who was under quarantine in the capital Kinshasa upon entry through the airport.

Authorities say he has since been isolated. DRC is currently quarantining passengers entering from China, Italy, France and Belgium – countries known to have a high number of coronavirus cases.

Meanwhile an 89-year-old woman who entered Morocco from Italy has died, authorities confirmed. Despite being the north African country’s first COVID-19 death, it is the second in Africa after Egypt – Africa’s most impacted country – recorded the first virus-related death last week.

Burkina Faso confirms two cases

Burkina Faso has confirmed two coronavirus cases – the country’s first, the health ministry reported. The patients are pf Burkinabe origin and had returned from France in February, Minister Claudine Lougue told reporters.

The man is 73-years-old and the woman is 57. They tested positive for the virus on Monday and have been placed in isolation, authorities say.

A third person who was reportedly in close contact with the couple has been placed under observation. Burkina Faso becomes the sixth sub-Saharan African country to report positive tests for coronavirus.

West Africa is the is second most impacted region with single-digit cases reported in Nigeria, Senegal and Togo. Cameroon is the only country in Central Africa with two cases whiles in southern Africa only South Africa has seven cases.

North Africa is the most impacted region with only Libya having escaped infection so far. Egypt has 55 cases whiles Algeria has 20, Tunisia, Morocco have 5 and 2 cases respectively.

Nigeria, Rwanda steps up measures

Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari on Monday announced a coronavirus task force with the aim of helping control the virus which as at today had affected two persons.

“This action is in preparation for the unlikely but probable major outbreak of the disease in the country which will require a multi-sectoral inter-governmental approach as advised by the World Health Organization, WHO, similar to that adopted for the HIV epidemic in the last 2 decades,” the statement read.

It is led by the Secretary-General of the federation, Boss Mustapha; it has a national coordinator with seven sector ministers. The head of the National Disease Control Commission and a WHO rep are among other members.

Rwanda, despite, having no confirmed case of coronavirus has moved to step up prevention measures from the epidemic that has affected all regional blocs of the continent except East Africa.

Known for its tourist appeal, authorities announced a number of tweaks to existing tourist protocols among others removing notice periods for tourists and tour operators and allowing for cancellation of bookings due to coronavirus-related issues.

Meanwhile in the capital Kigali, some bus terminals had placed mobile hand washing sets for passengers to use before boarding transport.

Most African countries are screening passengers at airports whiles encouraging the public to observe basic prevention measures like washing hands regularly.

SEEN IN KIGALI: To prevent the risk of #Coronavirus outbreak, passengers at the Kigali Bus Park have to wash their hands before getting onto buses.#Rwanda has recorded NO case of the epidemic but the country has stepped up vigilance. pic.twitter.com/tb7cfUNj7K

— The New Times (Rwanda) (@NewTimesRwanda) March 9, 2020

Cases in South Africa up to seven

#CoronUpdate The four NEW cases: a 38-year-old female who has identified 16 contacts, a male who has identified 15 contacts, a 45-year-old male who has identified 13 contacts and a 38-year-old male who has identified 21 contacts (azarrahk)

— Team News24 (TeamNews24) March 9, 2020

Egypt records first coronavirus death in Africa

Egypt confirmed the first fatality due to the coronavirus in the country – the first reported death on the continent.

The health ministry confirmed the case involved a 60-year-old German citizen admitted to a public hospital Friday, tested positive the next day and died on Sunday.

Having arrived from Germany a week ago, the tourist refused to be placed in an isolation unit before his condition deteriorated on Saturday with “acute pneumonia”.

Nigeria records second case, Ethiopian in UAE infected

Nigeria’s Health Minister on Monday recorded its second case of coronavirus. The unidentified patient is connected to the index case of February 27 involving an Italian in Lagos State. The current case is traced to Ogun State.

Authorities have stressed that the patient has been put in isolation as tracing of other possible contacts continue.

Since the first case was confirmed in Lagos, the NCDC has been supporting the Ogun State Emergency Operations Centre to respond accordingly

We urge the public not to panic. You can protect yourself using these six steps #COVID19Nigeria pic.twitter.com/c9Hq33scsq

— NCDC (@NCDCgov) March 9, 2020

Africa recorded no cases over the weekend except for South Africa that recorded two more cases. Other African countries affected in WHO African region include Senegal (4), Cameroon (2), Algeria (20), Togo (1), South Africa (3).

Meanwhile, Ethiopia’s State Minister of Health confirmed over the weekend that an Ethiopian resident in the United Arab Emirates, UAE, had tested positive for the disease.

Meanwhile, PM Abiy Ahmed on Monday met with the COVID-19 Ministerial Committee to assess status of preparedness tasks undertaken nationally. Minister Tadesse provided a report on related activities since the announcement of COVID-19.

We are now informed that one of them had very mild symptoms and was retested and currently became negative for #COVID19

— Lia Tadesse (@lia_tadesse) March 8, 2020

• Nigeria president hails Dangote’s $540,000 donation
• DRC to quarantine citizens from four virus- affected nations
• Cameroon gets second case
• Togo confirms first case
• Cameroon confirms first case
• Twitter CEO cancels planned work trip to Africa
• Kenya identifies high-risk areas
• Three major conferences postponed
• South Africa records first case
• Cases more than double in Algeria
• 2 South Africans recover from coronavirus
• Tunisia suspends ferry services to Northern Italy
• Senegal records two new cases
• Africa Basketball League postponed
• Tanzania bans shaking hands
• Kenyans sharing fake news to be charged
• Senegal records second case
• Zimbabwe to deport foreigners without ‘medical clearance’
• Morocco records first case, sixth case in Africa
• Senegal, Tunisia confirm first cases
• Egypt confirms second coronavirus case
• Algeria confirms two more coronavirus cases
• Kenya suspends all flights from China
• Nigeria records first case

Nigeria acknowledges Dangote’s preparedness donation

Nigeria president Muhammadu Buhari has acknowledged a donation from Africa’s richest man towards the country’s preparedness towards the COVID-19 outbreak.

“Hand in hand, standing shoulder to shoulder, we can confront our challenges as a country. This is a path for us all to follow as a people,” Buhari said in a statement.

The Aliko Dangote foundation, ADF, earlier in the week announced a 200 million naira donation to fight the virus in Nigeria. The country currently has only a confirmed case of an Italian national who arrived in Lagos weeks back.

A major chunk of the donation, N124million, was earmarked to support facilities to help prevent, assess and respond to health events at Point of Entry to ensure National Health Security.

“The donation was part of the Foundation’s cardinal objective of partnering with governments at all levels against the dreaded disease in Nigeria and the rest of Africa,” a top official of the foundation said.

Read more: Dangote donate N200m to fight Coronavirus in Nigeria

The President recalls that the organization had in the past donated N1 billion to tackle Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in Africa, commending such public spiritedness to other well-to-do individuals and groups.

— Presidency Nigeria (@NGRPresident) March 7, 2020

DRC to quarantine Europeans, Chinese

The Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC, will quarantine citizens of four countries when they arrive in the country, the Health Ministry has disclosed. The affected countries are Italy, France, Germany and China, where the outbreak started from.

In a letter to the embassies of the affected countries, Health Minister Eteni Longondo said travellers from Italy, France, Germany and China with no coronavirus symptoms will be asked to self quarantine for 14 days whiles those with symptoms will be transferred to a government-run isolation facility.

This is part of efforts by the government aimed at prevention and or detection of the virus which has arrived in all regions of Africa except for East Africa as at Friday, March 6.

The closest neighbour of DRC with a confirmed case is Cameroon, where two cases were reported on Friday. South Africa also confirmed its index case on Thursday.

Read More, Congo’s compulsory quarantine of four nationals

Cameroon case 2

#Cameroon confirms second #COVIDー19 case
- Involves Cameroonian in contact with index patient
- Both patients in isolation at Yaounde Central Hosp.
- Tracing, screening of contacts underway
- Cameroon sole affected in Central Africa
- Togo recorded index case today#Coronavirus https://t.co/HHlsvDEPWW

— Abdur Rahman Alfa Shaban (@AlfaAfrican) March 6, 2020

Togo government confirms index case

The Togo government has confirmed that the country has recorded its first coronavirus case. In a statement issued via social media, the government stressed that its preparedness was in full gear.

The said patient is a 42-year-old woman who is resident in the capital Lome along with her family. She entered Togo via land border of Sanvi Condji on March 2, 2020.

The statement added that her travel history showed that she had between 22 February till entering Togo been shuttling between Benin, Germany, France and Turkey.

She has since been isolated as authorities move to identify all possible contacts. Meanwhile a crisis committee meeting to be led by President Faure Gnassingbe is scheduled for later today.

Egypt confirms 12 new cases

Egypt’s health ministry on Friday announced had detected 12 cases of new coronavirus among staff on board a cruise ship on the Nile River in the south of the country.

The health ministry said in a statement that the 12 cases were detected in Egyptian employees on a cruise ship travelling from Aswan to Luxor, two tourist sites in Upper Egypt, “without showing any symptoms” of the disease.

The authorities were alerted after a Taiwanese tourist “of American origin” who had traveled on the boat was found to be the source of the spread of the disease, according to the joint statement with the World Health Organization (WHO).

The 12 Egyptian employees suspected of being infected had been quarantined and tested positive for Covid-19 at the end of their two-week confinement.

Other tourists who came into contact with the Taiwanese tourist were also quarantined, according to the press release.

Egypt which was the first country in Africa to report a case of coronavirus, had so far confirmed three cases including a Chinese man who has since recovered, bringing the number of confirmed cases in the country to 15.

AFP

Interview: Ethiopian student in Wuhan shares lockdown experience

Cameroon confirms first case of coronavirus

Cameroon’s health minister Dr. Malachie Manaouda on Friday confirmed the first case of the coronavirus in the country.

The victim has been identified as a 58-year-old French national who arrived in the country on February 24. ‘‘The case was placed in solitary confinement in th Care Center of the Yaounde Central Hospital for appropriate treatment,’‘ read part of the minister’s statement.

Manaouda also reassured the country that government has put in place measures to prevent the spread of the virus.

Breaking News!

First Coronavirus case hits Cameroon.

A release today from Cameroon’s Ministry of Public Health says a French national arrived Yaounde with the virus and has been under medical observation.

Developing

MMI https://t.co/UmIsTUgcoI pic.twitter.com/0EX20Jl7e3

— Mimi Mefo Info (@Mimimefo237) March 6, 2020

Twitter CEO reconsiders Africa plans

Twitter’s Chief Executive Officer Jack Dorsey, says he is rethinking plans to spend as long as six months in Africa, partly due to concerns over the new-coronavirus epidemic.

I had been working on my plans where I’d work decentralized, as my team and I do when we travel, but in light of COVID-19 and everything else going on I need to reevaluate. Either way we’ll continue to pursue opportunities in Africa.

— Twitter Investor Relations (@TwitterIR) March 5, 2020

During his month-long trip to the African continent that saw Dorsey make stops in Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana and Ethiopia, the Twitter boss said he planned to spend even more time in Africa in 2020.

There have so far been 27 cases of the coronavirus on the continent; in Nigeria, South Africa, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco and Egypt.

Kenya identifies high-risk areas

Kenya named two coastal towns and its capital Nairobi among the regions at high risk of coronavirus outbreak, according to local media reports.

The border regions in the western and north-eastern parts of the country are also at risk, according to Kenya’s head of disease surveillance, Dr Daniel Lang’at.

Nairobi is named because of hosting the country’s main airport, while the coastal towns of Mombasa and Kilifi have a high influx of tourists.

Kenya is yet to record any conformed cases of the coronavirus.

Major conferences cancelled over coronavirus

Three major conferences in annual conferences in Africa have been cancelled with organizers citing the ongoing coronavirus outbreak that has only recently arrived in sub-Saharan Africa.

The three are as follows:

• The high-level ministerial conference organised by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, (UN-ECA). It was scheduled to be held between 18 to 24 March in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.
• The Next Einstein Forum schedules to take place next week in Kenya’s capital Nairobi has also been postponed to a later date. The forum, typically attended by more than 2,000 people from more than 79 countries was scheduled for 9 to 13 March.
• The two-day Africa CEO forum which was scheduled to be held early next week (9 to 10 March) in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, has also been postponed to a later date.

“Following global health concerns pertaining to the COVID-19 coronavirus and the need for added vigilance, upon consultation with partners, the ECA will postpone all public meetings until further notice,” an ECA statement read in part.

South Africa records first case

South Africa’s health minister Dr. Zweli Mkhize on Thursday confirmed that the country had recorded its first case of the coronavirus.

‘‘This morning, Thursday March 5, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases confirmed that a suspected case of COVID-19 has tested positive,’‘ the minister tweeted.

The patient is a 38-year-old male who travelled to Italy with his wife. They were part of a group of 10 people and they arrived back in South Africa on March 1, 2020.#COVID19

— Dr Zweli Mkhize (@DrZweliMkhize) March 5, 2020

Cases more than double in Algeria

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Algeria has more than doubled, after more than nine new cases were registered on Wednesday night. The North African country now has 17 confirmed cases.

Algeria’s health ministry said nine new cases were registered from a family living in the northern Blida district, some 30km (20 miles) from the capital, Algiers.

According to Reuters, the family which accounts for 16 of the 17 cases last month hosted a man and his daughter based in France who were tested positive for coronavirus after flying back to France.

“Mobilisation of health teams remains at its hightest level,” the health ministry said in a statement, adding that government has put medical staff at hospitals, mainly in Blida and nearby towns, on alert to cope with new cases.

2 South Africans recover from coronavirus

South Africa says its nationals who had tested positive on the cruise ship Diamond Princess ‘ave now tested negative and will shortly be making their way home’.

The pair who initially tested positive for coronavirus had been hospitalised in Japan after being taken ashore from the cruise ship where they worked.

South Africa, which last week said it would evacuate its nationals from the Chinese city of Wuhan, adding that those plans are at an ‘advanced stage’.

“A total of 184 South Africans have indicated their desire to be repatriated,” it adds in a statement.

They are said to be mostly “students, teachers and other professionals”.

The Diamond Princess was first quarantined in January when a passenger who disembarked in Hong Kong tested positive for coronavirus.

Tunisia suspends ferry services to Italy

Tunisia’s health minister Abdelatif el-Mekki said on Wednesday the country will suspend passenger ferry services to northern Italy, as one of the measures aimed at preventing the spread of coronavirus.

The news follows Monday’s confirmation of a first case in the country; a Tunisian national who had recently arrived from Italy by sea.

Other measures taken by authorities include a separate terminal at Tunis airport for flights from northern Italy, which keeps passengers apart before a screening process.

Foreign football fans have also been banned from attending games with local clubs. Two Tunisian teams are scheduled to play against clubs from Morocco and Egypt in the coming days.

Senegal records two news cases

Senegal on Wednesday announced its third and fourth cases of coronavirus bringing the country’s tally to four. A statement from the Health Ministry said the two new cases had been confirmed by the Institut Pasteur de Dakar.

One of the new patients is connected with the second confirmed case. The 68-year-old French national is the wife of the patient diagnosed on Tuesday. The other patient is a 33-year-old English national who arrived in Dakar on February 24 from London.

On Monday, Senegal announced the first case of coronavirus in the country, becoming the second in sub-Saharan Africa after one was confirmed in Nigeria last week.

The index patient was a French man who lives in Senegal and came back from a skiing holiday in France on Feb. 26 on an Air Senegal flight, Health Minister Abdoulaye Diouf Sarr told reporters.

Africa Basketball League postponed

The Basketball Africa League, which was supposed to start next week in Senegal, has been postponed over the coronavirus outbreak.

The cancellation was done after advice from the Senegalese government, which on Monday confirmed that a second person had tested positive for the coronavirus.

12 teams including Algeria, Angola, Cameroon, Egypt, Madagascar, Mali, Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal and Tunisia were scheduled to compete. The league is being organised in partnership of America’s National Basketball Association (NBA) and the International Basketball Federation (FIBA).

Senegal, which is hosting the competition, has confirmed two cases of coronavirus, bringing the total confirmed cases in Africa to 12.

The other countries affected are Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria and Tunisia.

The following statement has been issued: pic.twitter.com/EUGEaYCBcP

— Basketball Africa League (@theBAL) March 4, 2020

Tanzania bans shaking hands

Tanzania’s football federation (TFF) followed the health ministry and president’s lead, banning handshakes between players before the start of a match.

The TFF said it was following advice issued by the ministry of health as part of measures to stop the spread of coronavirus.

On Tuesday, Tanzania’s State House shared photos showing Tanzanian President John Magufuli exchanging a foot greeting with an opposition leader.

Kenyans to be charged for spreading fake news

Kenya’s government spokesperson Cyrus Oguna has warned that nationals risk being fined $50,000 or be jailed for two years for publishing or sharing fake news about outbreak of coronavirus.

Oguna says detectives from the cybercrime unit are analysing content shared online for investigation, arrest and prosecution of those culpable.

Kenya’s Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes law, criminalises sharing of false, misleading or fictitious information and stipulates a fine of 5m Kenyan shillings ($50,000) or imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or both.

Kenya, like many governments across the world, has been grappling with cases of false alerts being shared on social media.

The ministry of health on Monday was forced to issue a statement explaining that a four-minute clip in circulation that gave the false impression that the government had confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the country., was from a simulation event held over the weekend.

The Ministry of Health would like to caution the general public against an audio being shared on WhatsApp groups about confirmed cases of coronavirus in the Country. There is NO confirmed case of COVID-19 in Kenya. KNH_hospital CDCKenya UNICEFKenya WHOKenya BreakingNewsKE pic.twitter.com/dZ5lAPV2C0

— Ministry of Health (MOH_Kenya) March 2, 2020

Senegal records second case

Senegal recorded its second case of COVID-19 the ministry of health confirmed in a statement late Tuesday. Authorities said the patient was a French national who arrived in Dakar on 29 Feb from Paris.

This case is similar to the first which was recorded on Monday also of a French national resident in Senegal but having flown in from France.

Nigeria is only other sub-Saharan African country with a case involving an Italian national who flew into Lagos before proceeding to an adjoining state. He is however in quarantine at a facility run by the Lagos State government.

#Senegal‘s ministry of health confirms second case of COVID-19
- A French national who arrived in Dakar on 29 Feb from Paris.
- Similar to the first case reported March 2
- Nigeria is only other sub-Saharan African country with a case#Coronavirus hub: https://t.co/sRp9EHC1hc https://t.co/udIaoIrvxn

— Abdur Rahman Alfa Shaban (@AlfaAfrican) March 3, 2020

Zimbabwe threatens deportation of entrants

Zimbabwe’s Health Minister says the country will deport foreigners who enter the country without medical clearance from their respective countries.

Minister Obediah Moyo was quoted by the state-owned Herald Newspaper as saying all visitors without medical clearance from government hospitals in their respective countries will be deported.

So far only West Africa in the sub-Saharan Africa region has recorded two cases in Nigeria and Senegal. Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt and Morocco have all recorded cases but they fall under the Middle East and North Africa region under WHO classification.

IATA – African Airlines risk $400m losses to coronavirus disruption

Morocco records first case

Morocco’s health ministry on Monday evening confirmed that the country had recorded its first coronavirus case.

According to the Reuters news agency, the patient is a Moroccan man who was living in Italy. He is receiving treatment at a hospital in Casablanca.

The state-owned Maghreb Agency Press said the case was confirmed after tests at the Institut Pasteur-Maroc returned positive.

Morocco became the sixth African country to record a coronavirus case, following confirmations in Senegal and Tunisia on Monday.

Nigeria, Algeria and Egypt are the other countries that have been affected.

Senegal, Tunisia record first cases

Two African countries have confirmed first cases of coronavirus as at today (Monday, March 2). Tunisia confirmed its first case in an announcement by its health minister.

Abdelatif el-Maki said the patient was a 40-year-old Tunisian man, who arrived in the country by boat from Italy on 27 February. He and the other passengers had been advised to monitor themselves. When his fever spiked, he contacted emergency services.

Tunisia is the third North African country to record a case along with Algeria and Egypt. Senegal also became the second in sub-Saharan Africa to confirm a case after Nigeria. The Nigerian case is of an Italian national whiles the Senegal case is of a French national.

Egypt confirms second coronavirus case

Egypt on Sunday confirmed a second case of the coronavirus, announcing that a foreigner, whose nationality was not announced, had tested positive.

The patient was being treated in an isolation facility, according to the health ministry, which also said it was enforcing strict preventive measures for people who came into contact with this new patient.

This is the second confirmed case in the country. The first coronavirus patient, who was announced last month, has reportedly recovered.

Qatar has banned travellers from Egypt to prevent the spread of the virus, following reports that recently confirmed cases in France, the US and Canada involve people who travelled to Egypt.

Algeria confirms two more coronavirus cases

Algeria on Sunday confirmed two new cases of coronavirus infections, in a 53-year-old woman and her 24-year-old daughter.

The victims have been placed in isolation in Blida province south of the capital, Algiers, according to the health ministry, adding that the pair had hosted a man and his daughter from France who tested positive for coronavirus after their return.

Algeria now has three confirmed cases of the coronavirus. The country’s first case was confirmed last week in an Italian national, who was subsequently deported to Italy.

Kenya suspends all flights from China

Kenya’s president Uhuru Kenyatta on Friday issued a directive on the coronavirus, that included setting up a 21-member task force and the completion of an isolation centre at Mbagathi Hospital in Nairobi within seven days.

“Kenya is a major international transport hub, with 70 per cent of international passengers in transit, and there is a significant threat arising from the spread of the coronavirus to Kenya from countries that have new and ongoing outbreaks of the pneumatic disease,” the Head of State said in his Executive Order Number 2 of 2020.

The President also ordered for the identification and preparation of isolation and treatment facilities in all Level Five and referral hospitals across the country to be concluded by March 15, 2020.

The National Emergency Response Committee led by the health minister has different cabinet secretaries including those in charge of Defence, Transport, Foreign Affairs, and Information Communication.

It would also have directors-general of Medical Services, the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority and Kenya Airports Authority, in addition to the Director of Immigration.

Earlier, a court had suspended flights between Kenya and China and ordered the state to prepare a plan to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

The court ruling followed Wednesday’s resumption of flights by China Southern Airlines flights on the Guangzhou-Changsha-Nairobi route.

The Law Society of Kenya had filed a case asking the court to suspend flights again.

Justice James Makau suspended the flights for 10 days and ordered the state to prepare a “contingency plan on the prevention, surveillance and response to coronavirus”.

The team put in place by the president will also formulate, enforce and review processes and requirements for entry into Kenya of any persons suspected to have travelled to a coronavirus infested area.

Nigeria confirms first case in Sub-Saharan Africa

Nigerian authorities on Friday reported the first confirmed case of the new coronavirus in sub-Saharan Africa as the outbreak spread to a region with some of the world’s weakest health systems.

The health commissioner for Lagos, Africa’s largest city with more than 20 million people, said an Italian citizen who entered Nigeria on Tuesday from Milan on a business trip fell ill the next day. Commissioner Akin Abayomi said the man was clinically stable with no serious symptoms.

Abayomi said officials were working to identify all of the man’s contacts since he arrived in Nigeria. Lagos state early this month advised people arriving from virus-affected areas to observe 14 days of self-quarantine while monitoring for any symptoms.

Nigerian health officials have been strengthening measures to ensure that any outbreak in Lagos is contained quickly, Abayomi said in a statement. He urged Lagos residents to take measures such as keeping their distance from people who are coughing and washing their hands regularly.

Cases of the virus were confirmed in Egypt and Algeria in north Africa in recent days. Until then, some global health experts had expressed surprise that no cases had been reported in Africa.

Nigeria is one of 13 African countries that WHO classified as high priority in this outbreak because of direct links to China or a high number of visitors from there.

The country was praised for quickly containing cases when the Ebola outbreak reached there in 2014 after an infected man from Liberia landed in Lagos. Nineteen people were infected and seven died, but officials were praised for effective public awareness campaigns and strong leadership.

“We have worked very hard to strengthen our systems in preparedness for this outbreak,” the director of the Nigeria Center for Disease Control, Chikwe Ihekweazu, tweeted.

“The Ebola outbreak taught us a lot of lessons,” Ihekweazu wrote in a commentary for The Conversation last month. As of December, all 36 of Nigeria’s states had a rapid response team in case of a disease outbreak, he wrote, and 22 states had emergency operations centers to better coordinate a response.

Nigeria is also currently dealing with an outbreak of Lassa fever, an indication of the health challenges that many African nations face.

With the new virus case announced in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country with 190 million people and numerous air links around the continent and beyond, other nations warned of possible spread.

“Given these recent developments globally and in Africa, it is not unlikely that we will have importation of COVID-19 to South Africa,” that country’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases said Friday.