Ghana’s western neighbour Côte d’Ivoire has confirmed its first case of the deadly Coronavirus also known as COVID-19.
An official statement from the country’s Health Ministry on Wednesday indicates that the patient is a 45-year-old Ivorian man who had recently travelled to Italy.
“On 10th March, the Adjamé-Plateau-Attécoubé was notified of a suspected case of Coronavirus. The patient is a 45-year old Ivorian man who had returned from Italy who showed symptoms of fever, cough and flu,” parts of the statement translated into English read.
It added that “tests conducted on the patient proved positive for coronavirus”.
The patient was immediately transferred to the Treichville Hospital but is currently stable and recovering.
Persons said to have come into close contact with the patient have also been identified and are being observed.
The Health Ministry assured that every measure is being put in place to isolate this single case of coronavirus to avoid its spread.
Following the confirmation by Côte d’Ivoire, all three of Ghana’s direct neighbours have now reported cases of the deadly disease.
Eastern neighbour, Togo registered its first case of the virus on Friday, March 6, 2020, while a man and his wife have been confirmed as the first patients of coronavirus in Ghana’s northern neighbour, Burkina Faso.
The other affected countries are Egypt, Algeria, South Africa, Senegal, Morocco, Cameroon, Nigeria, DR Congo and Tunisia.
African statistics
In Africa, a total of 114 cases have been recorded as of Wednesday, March 11, 2020.
Majority of the cases are in Egypt where 59 persons have been found to be with the virus and one person dying as a result.
In Algeria, 20 persons have caught the virus while in South Africa, 13 have been recorded.
Senegal has four cases.
Official figures indicate that there are two persons each in Morocco (one dead), Cameroon, Nigeria and Tunisia who have the virus.
In neighbouring Togo and Côte d’Ivoire, one case has been reported. There is also one case in DR. Congo
Global statistics
Global statistics for affected persons have surpassed 120,000 with over 4,500 deaths, majority of which occurred in China.
