Zimbabwe has reported its first confirmed case of the novel coronavirus. The 38-year-old from Victoria Falls had travelled to the United Kingdom earlier in March.
This brings the number of Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries with COVID-19 cases up to seven.
Zimbabwe’s Health Minister, Obadiah Moyo, says the man returned to Zimbabwe through South Africa and started feeling ill.
Moyo says the patient zero is recovering well at home. The Health Ministry also noted that there were pending cases.
Notably, a 25-year-old has recently travelled to Rwanda, where there are reports of local transmissions.
The ministry has urged citizens to abide by the preventative measures to curb a full outbreak in the country.
In this video, Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa says the country will take measures against coronavirus
SADC countries which have confirmed coronavirus cases include South Africa, Namibia and Eswatini.
The first coronavirus case in South Africa was confirmed earlier in March and the number has since risen to 202. South Africa now has the highest number of coronavirus infections in sub-Saharan Africa.
On Sunday, President Cyril Ramaphosa declared the coronavirus a national disaster and issued a travel ban among others.
Eswatini’s first case was confirmed earlier this month, while Namibia currently has three coronavirus cases.
