Cameroon has reported its first confirmed case of the coronavirus.
Announcing the news on March 6, 2020, the health ministry revealed that the virus was detected in a 58-year-old French citizen. The patient has since been quarantined in the city’s Central Hospital.
“All measures have been taken by the government to contain potential risks of the virus spreading,” the ministry said in a statement.
The patient arrived in Yaounde, the country's capital, from an unnamed destination on February 24, 2020.
Cameroon is now the fourth country in sub-Sahara Africa to be affected by the virus after Nigeria, Senegal and South Africa.
Algeria has the highest number of confirmed cases in the continent with nine new cases yesterday (Mar. 5). The country has a total of 17 cases.
Following the continuous spread, the director-general of the World Health Organization has warned all governments to prepare for "sustained community transmission."
"This is not a drill. This is not the time to give up. This is not a time for excuses. This is a time for pulling out all the stops. Countries have been planning for scenarios like this for decades. Now is the time to act on those plans," Tedros said.
"This epidemic can be pushed back, but only with a collective, coordinated and comprehensive approach that engages the entire machinery of government."
Across the continent, there are 27 confirmed coronavirus cases and counting. Globally, over 100,000 people have been infected since the outbreak began in the central Chinese city of Wuhan. There have been more than 3,000 deaths so far.
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