Gabon government on Thursday confirmed cases of Coronavirus outbreak.
In a statement, Gabon’s government said its index case was a 27-year-old Gabonese man who had returned from France on March 8, Reuters reported.
The Minister of Communication, Edgard Miyakou, made the announcement in an official statement on the Gabonese national television, Trend.
“This day, March 12, 2020, the government declares the first case of COVID-19 in Gabon,” the minister said. “He is a 27-year-old compatriot living in Gabon and having stayed in Bordeau in France.”
The samples taken from the patient were sent to the Franceville International Medical Research Center (CIRMF), the Gabonese laboratory certified by WHO for COVID-19 tests.
“The results obtained on Thursday were positive for COVID-19,” the minister said, adding that “the patient is doing better.”
Cases in Africa are rapidly increasing. About 15 African countries, including Ghana, Gabon, DR Congo, Algeria, Burkina Faso, South Africa, Senegal, Tunisia, Togo, Egypt, Cameroon, Nigeria, and Morocco have reported over 100 coronavirus cases.
Egypt remains worst-hit by the virus on the continent. The first recorded death in Africa occurred in the country.