Burkina Faso has confirmed its first two cases of the novel coronavirus.
The two patients are a couple, the wife having recently returned from France.
The Health Minister Claudine Lougue has told local media that the patients have been quarantined in a hospital in the capital Ouagadougou.
A third person who was in close contact with the couple is under observation.
At least 109,578 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus, officially known as COVID-19, have been reported worldwide as of Monday March 9, 2020.
According to the WHO this represents an increase of 3,994 infections from the previous day.
#BurkinaFaso has confirmed two cases of #COVID19. The patients are a couple, one of whom recently returned from France. They are currently quarantined in hospital. Burkina Faso becomes the 6th sub-Saharan African country to report positive cases of #coronavirus. pic.twitter.com/yvcNpD1Bgf
— WHO African Region (@WHOAFRO) March 10, 2020
Of the 3,994 new infections, 3,949 were outside China, according to the WHO.
Burkina Faso has become the latest African country to report coronavirus cases after Cameroon, Senegal, Morocco, South Africa, Nigeria, Algeria, Togo, Tunisia and Egypt.
Africa so far has recorded over 100 cases with one death reported in Egypt.
Egypt (59), Algeria (20) and Nigeria (2) Tunisia (5), Togo (1), Cameroon (2), Morocco (2), South Africa (7), Burkina Faso (2) and Senegal (4) are the cases so far.
Besides Burkina Faso, Bangladesh, Albania and Paraguay also reported cases of COVID-19 for the first time as of Monday.
That brings the total number of countries affected by the coronavirus to 105.
The coronavirus outbreak began in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in December last year.
Source: Africafeeds.com
