South Africa has just recorded its first positive case of coronavirus today.
In a statement issued by the country’s Health Minister Zweli Mkhizhe, the government confirmed its first positive case of the coronavirus in one of Africa’s populous nations and the economic hub of Southern Africa.
Minister Mkhizhe in a statement, said the confirmed coronavirus patient was a 38-year-old man from KwaZulu-Natal Province whom he said had traveled to Italy with his wife.
According to the South African Minister’s press statement, the coronavirus patient who was also in the company of his wife was part of 10 people that arrived on March first.
Based on South Africa’s press statement, the coronavirus patient was said to have consulted a doctor on March third bearing symptoms of fever, headaches, malaise, sore throat, and a cough amid reports that the same patient had been in self-isolation since arriving in South Africa.
Meanwhile, Minister Mkhizhe said South Africa’s Emergency Operating Centre had managed to track down people who had been in contact with the coronavirus patient, including the doctor who attended to him earlier on.
“We confirm that a suspected case of #COVID19 has tested positive. This is not as a failure but as a success of our health systems to be able to detect and rapidly identify cases. The case has been self-isolated at home since the onset of symptoms and is receiving treatment,” said Mkhizhe.
On the same day South Africa confirmed its first coronavirus case, the country’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) also came out saying they had also tested over 180 people for coronavirus, who however all tested negative for the disease.
Zimbabwe is a neighbor to South Africa which houses millions of the Southern African nation’s economic refugees. Gripped with the fear of having its people falling prey to coronavirus, the Zimbabwean government banned overseas travel yesterday.
Apart from banning overseas travel, the Zimbabwean government also recently announced that people visiting the country from areas affected by coronavirus without valid medical certificates showing they are negative will be repatriated at the port of entry.
But now, with coronavirus confirmed in neighboring South Africa, Zimbabwean citizens like 27-year old James Bhebhe are worried.
“Soon, coronavirus will be here and many will perish because I don’t think our country has the capacity to bear the burden of handling the tragic disease,” said Bhebhe who is a practicing nurse at a private clinic in the Zimbabwean capital, Harare.
Over 3,000 people have died as a result of coronavirus following the first outbreak recorded in the Chinese city of Wuhan, and there are now more than 95,700 coronavirus cases worldwide.
In Zimbabwe, more than 6,000 travelers have been screened of the disease at ports of entry like Robert Gabriel Mugabe and Victoria Falls international airports.
Across the African continent, so far, 12 coronavirus cases have been reported in Algeria, with four in Senegal, two in Egypt, one in Nigeria, one in Morocco and one in Tunisia.
Just last month, South Africa’s Department of Health said two South African citizens working in Japan for Diamond Princess cruise ship, tested positive for the coronavirus in the Asian nation.
