Cameroon records first case of coronavirus

Cameroon has confirmed its first case of coronavirus.

Manaouda Malachie, the country’s public health minister, confirmed the index case in a statement on Friday.

The ministry said the 58-year-old French citizen arrived in the capital Yaounde on February 24, adding that the man has been quarantined in the city’s central hospital.

“The case was placed in solitary confinement in the Care Centre of the Yaounde Central Hospital for appropriate treatment,” Malachie said.

“All measures are being taken by the government to contain possible risks of the spread of the virus.”

The health official asked the public to be “vigilant and respect hygiene rules”.

Cameroon, which is situated in Central Africa, is the eighth country on the continent to report the virus after Egypt, Algeria, Senegal, Nigeria, Tunisia, Morocco, and South Africa.

Also, Egypt has recorded 12 new cases of coronavirus on a Nile boat coming from Aswan to Luxor.

This brings the number of confirmed cases in the North African country to 15.

A statement by Khaled Megahed, spokesperson of the country’s health ministry, said the detection came after information from WHO reported that a Taiwanese-American tourist, who was on board the cruise, had tested positive after returning home.

Megahed said the 12 cases, all Egyptian workers on the ship, tested positive after a PCR test was carried out following the conclusion of the 14-day incubation period.

She added that the new cases have been referred to an isolation hospital while others believed to have been in contact with them are currently in quarantine for 14 days in order to observe their health conditions.

Since the outbreak of coronavirus in Wuhan, China in December 2019, more than 90,000 people have been infected with the disease around the world and with over 3000 deaths recorded globally.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) had declared the disease an international health emergency and recently updated the global risk level to “very high”.