A man and his wife have been confirmed as the first patients of coronavirus in Ghana’s northern neighbour, Burkina Faso.
According to Burkina Faso’s Health Minister, Prof. Claudine Lougué, the couple recently returned from France.
Addressing local media on Monday, March 9, 2020, the Minister said the two patients have been quarantined in an isolation facility at the Tengandogo University Centre hospital in the capital Ouagadougou.
The Minister said another person who was in close contact with the couple is being closely monitored and under confinement at home.
She said a health team is in place and following up on other persons who may have come into contact with the patients.
“We invite anyone who has stayed in affected areas or who has been in close contact with a proven case to observe individual and collective prevention measures,” Professor Claudine Lougué said.
The case in Burkina Faso increases to 10, the number of countries on the continent that have recorded coronavirus cases.
The other affected countries are Egypt, Algeria, South Africa, Senegal, Morocco, Cameroon, Nigeria, Tunisia and Togo.
African statistics
In Africa, a total of 97 cases have been recorded as at midnight on Monday March 9, 2020.
Majority of the cases are in Egypt where 55 persons have been found to be with the virus and one person dying as a result.
In Algeria, 17 persons have caught the virus while in South Africa, seven have been recorded.
Senegal has four cases.
Official figures indicate that there are two persons each in Morocco, Cameroon, Nigeria and Tunisia who have the virus.
In neighbouring Togo, one case has been reported.
Global statistics
Global statistics for affected persons have surpassed 110,000 with over 4,000 deaths, majority of which occurred in China.
