Burkina Faso reports first death from coronavirus in sub-Saharan Africa

The Sahel state of Burkina Faso has reportedly announced its first death from the novel coronavirus, which makes it the first known fatality in sub-Saharan Africa. The country declared that the coronavirus reached the region when two cases were detected at the beginning of March that were linked to France. 

Burkina's national coordinator for response to the virus, Professor Martial Ouedraogo, said in a Press conference that the country recorded the death from COVID-19 overnight. He said that the fatality was a female patient aged 62, who suffered from diabetes and was under medical supervision in the intensive care unit. Health Minister Claudine Lougue confirmed that the woman had returned from a high-risk European country, as per the reports. 

According to the reports, the governments of nearly all countries in the African continent have initiated strict health screening procedures across all points of entry, especially at the airports. Cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt, Senegal, and Nigeria. African airlines have cancelled scheduled flights to China except for Ethiopian Airlines, which is partially operating as of now. However, countries like Benin, Liberia, Tanzania; Eritrea have imposed a total travel ban. Benin, the ninth West African country to record COVID-19 case, has set aside 7 billion CFA for the preventive measures. 

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Government of Ghana urges lockdown

The head of Liberia’s environmental protection agency has reportedly contracted the disease and has been recently quarantined. He is Liberia’s first “imported” case of the novel coronavirus. He tested positive after he returned from a trip to Switzerland as per the state agency report. President George Weah called for concerted efforts to combat the COVID-19 virus including observing good personal hygiene. He stressed that the government will do all it takes to ensure that citizens are safe. 

West Africa thus far has Sierra Leone, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, The Gambia, Mali, and Niger that have confirmed zero coronavirus cases as per media reports. Meanwhile, the government of Ghana announced a raft of containment measures in a statement, declaring that they might have to put the West African country on a total lockdown to stem the malignant pathogen’s spread. Ghana has reportedly confirmed six cases as of March 15. 

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