TheCable

Sierra Leone has confirmed its first case of coronavirus.

Sierra Leonean President Julius Maada Bio announced this on Tuesday.

The patient, a 37-year-old man, was said to have travelled from France on March 16 and had been in isolation since.

“When I did my first coronavirus news conference, I said that it was not a matter of if, but when. Well, ‘when’ has come,” the president said in a televised speech.

“The government will respond rapidly to changes in the situation by announcing additional enhanced measures.”

He said authorities are “aggressively” tracing people who may have come into contact with the patient and asked citizens to report anyone with coronavirus symptoms to the authorities.

Land borders are closed, international flights banned, and schools have been shut indefinitely to curb the spread of the disease.

Also, Tanzania has recorded its first death from COVID-19.

According to Ummy Mwalimu, the country’s health minister, the 49-year-old victim had underlying health issues.

“I regret to announce the first death of coronavirus patient early this morning. The 49-year old man had other health complications,” Mwalimu said in a statement.

Of the 19 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the country, the minister said one person has recovered.

He asked Tanzanians to take precaution to prevent a spread of the infection and report at any medical centre if they develop symptoms of the respiratory illness.

As of 10am, the virus had already spread to 47 states in Africa with 5,255 cases and 172 deaths.

There are 805,528 confirmed cases globally, with 39,040 deaths while about 172,426 people have recovered from the disease.