12th March, 2020
Ivory Coast’s Health Minister, Eugene Aka Aouele has announced the first confirmed case of the Coronavirus in the country.
According to the statement released, a 45-year-old man who recently returned after travelling to Italy developed fever, cough and cold; the major symptoms of infection.
”The patient’s clinical condition is stable and reassuring. The people who have been in contact with the patient have been identified and are being monitored”.
Aouele appealed to the Ivorian population to remain calm, saying that measures are in place for ”an optimal management of the case” and to curtail the spread of the virus.
Asides China, Italy is battling the worst outbreak of the illness.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has so far confirmed cases of the coronavirus (COVID-19) in eleven African countries, Algeria, Cameroon, Egypt, Nigeria, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa, Togo, Tunisia, Congo, and Burkina Faso.
Egypt has 60 cases, the highest in Africa. One patient had died from the virus, now declared a pandemic by World Health Organisation.