The first suspected case in southern Africa of the new coronavirus, Covid-19, was recorded in eSwatini (Swaziland) on Friday.
According to a statement by Dr. Samuel Vusi Magagula, deputy director of the eSwatini Department of Health, reported the case at one of the country’s health facilities on Friday.
A spokesperson for the department’s Emergency Resistance Unit confirmed the incident. The patient is currently being quarantined in the Mbabane State Hospital while tests are being conducted to confirm whether Covid-19 is present.
The patient is believed to have arrived from China in South Africa prior to the further trip to eSwatini.
The announcement comes after Egypt was the first country in Africa to report a case of the deadly virus to the World Health Organization (WHO).
It was the first confirmed case on the African continent since the virus broke out in December in Wuhan, China.
This was after the patient arrived in the country on February 6 after a trip from China.
By Saturday, the death toll of the deadly virus was 1,523, with more than 66,400 cases reported in China, The Guardian reports .
Magagula says the department is calling on anyone who has recently traveled to China – especially students – to dial the country’s emergency number and report it.
He says the country is on a high readiness basis and has announced prevention measures.
