Coronavirus latest updates: First case reported in Africa

The coronavirus 2019-nCoV is a virology phenomenon that has gripped the world in fear. There have already been more than 100 deaths reported in mainland China and according to reports, it may have made its way into Africa too.

Coronavirus: Ivory Coast tests Africa’s first patient

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), a coronavirus is a family of viruses that “include the common cold, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS).”

The world’s leading scientists have zoned in on Wuhan, a city in mainland China, to try and locate the source of the coronavirus. This is crucial in determining a vaccine appropriate for humans.

The Chinese government has tried, by all means, to lock down the city and cordon off all entry and exit points. However, there have been cases reported in the United States, as well as Africa.

A reported by CNN, a 34-year-old female student became the first person to be tested for the virus in Africa. The traveller, whose identity has been withheld for safety reasons, disembarked a flight from Beijing, at the Félix-Houphouët-Boigny International Airport, in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, on Saturday.

According to authorities, the student was pulled aside and quarantined after she displayed symptoms of the coronavirus.

Ivory Coast’s Ministry of Health and Public Hygiene said, in a statement, that early observations lean towards pneumonia but she also displayed flu-like symptoms like coughing, sneezing and respiratory problems, which are red flags for coronavirus.

“Her general state is satisfactory. There are, at this stage, suspicions of a case of pneumonia tied to the coronavirus,” the statement read.

The current state of the woman has not yet been communicated by the country, and while China is doing everything it can to contain the virus, fears are growing that it could be a little too late.

What is the latest on the spread of the virus?

Latest updates coming from CNN report that the virus has already claimed more than 100 lives and recorded infections have skyrocketed to over 4 500 cases.

According to the National Health Commission of the People’s Republic of China, these are the latest infection and fatality figures:

Africa has not been included in this table because tests of the suspected patient have not yet been concluded.

Countries	Cases	Deaths
Mainland China	4 515	106
Hong Kong	8	0
Macao	5	0
Australia	5	0
Cambodia	1	0
Canada	1	0
France	3	0
Germany	1	0
Japan	4	0
Malaysia	4	0
Nepal	1	0
Singapore	5	0
South Korea	4	0
Sri Lanka	1	0
Thailand	8	0
Taiwan	4	0
United States	5	0
Vietnam	2	0