Cameroon has become the fourth country in Sub-Saharan Africa to confirm a case of the deadly coronavirus.
Public Health in the country says the 58-year-old French citizen, who arrived in Yaoundé on February 24th, is now in isolation at a hospital.
The Ministry of Public Health of Cameroon has announced the country’s first confirmed case of COVID-19. The patient is a 58-year-old French citizen who arrived in Yaoundé on 24 February. The patient is now in isolation at the Central Hospital of Yaoundé for appropriate care. pic.twitter.com/5vaHyOXHHf
— WHO African Region (@WHOAFRO) March 6, 2020
Nigeria, Senegal and South Africa have all reported cases of the COVID-19 infection.
Status update – number of #COVID19 cases in @WHO #Africa Region:
??Algeria: 12
??Nigeria: 1
??Senegal: 4Cases on remainder of the African continent:
??Egypt: 2
??Tunisia: 1
??Morocco: 1 pic.twitter.com/oOBvyluQbH— WHO African Region (@WHOAFRO) March 5, 2020
The outbreak has killed more than 3 400 people and spread across more than 90 countries.
General Manager of Emergency, Trauma, Transplant, and Corporate Social Investment at Netcare, Mande Toubkin says South Africans need not panic as the South African government has been readying itself for a possible outbreak.
South Africa confirms it’s first case of #COVID19, a 38-year-old male who returned from a trip to Italy on March 1 with his wife. @WHO experts are already in country to assist the national government response & preparedness efforts. pic.twitter.com/9pgvp2PrxW
— WHO African Region (@WHOAFRO) March 5, 2020
In the video below, the first case of coronavirus in South Africa is announced:
Toubkin says if anyone has concerns they should call the 24-hour hotline on 0800 029 999 with any questions or symptoms related to the coronavirus.
Coronavirus hotline:
Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation African Region (WHO) has urged people to remain calm but vigilant.
“We’ve been dealing with flu-type illness for a long time and I think what we need to do is we need to just take a breath and make sure that we are vigilant around contact around people that are sneezing, around people that are coughing, that have had a travel history and that we are absolutely amazing about hand washing. SA has been ready for a long time we’ve been working really hard for the last six weeks with the Department of Health and NICD. If you have flu and are coughing make sure you don’t go to work we need to then assess why we ill and then phone the NICD they’ve got a very good line for the public.”
Simple hygiene practices can reduce your risk of #COVID19 & other respiratory illnesses.
If you think you may have been exposed to #coronavirus, please contact your healthcare provider immediately.https://t.co/n3a6b3foLz pic.twitter.com/NViXp9QvFu
— WHO African Region (@WHOAFRO) February 28, 2020
Reduce your risk of coronavirus:
