Categories: South Africa

Kenya confirms first coronavirus case

Kenya’s health ministry has confirmed its first Covid-19 case.

The patient was confirmed positive on Thursday, but is reportedly stable.

“I want to inform you that the Ministry of Health has confirmed the first coronavirus case in Kenya,” Health Minister Mutahi Kagwe told reporters.

“The case is a Kenyan citizen who travelled back to Nairobi, returning from the United States of America via London, United Kingdom, on March 5, 2020.”

The woman’s temperature had returned to normal and she was stable and recovering in isolation, he said.

It is the first confirmed case of the new coronavirus in the East African region.

The Kenyan government said they have traced all people she came into contact with and urged residents to follow guidelines to prevent the spread of the virus, according to Citizen Digital.

Kagwe said all public gatherings and prison visits have been suspended, and that church services may only run if the facility provides hand sanitiser.

Gabon and Ghana have also confirmed their first Covid-19 cases, reports SABC.

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