Burkina Faso confirms 1st death from coronavirus

ANKARA (AA) - Burkina Faso on Wednesday announced its first death due to the new coronavirus known as COVID-19, making it the first confirmed death from the epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa, according to media reports.

"We recorded the death overnight of a female patient aged 62, who suffered from diabetes and was in intensive care," the South Africa-based SowetanLive quoted Martial Ouedraogo, Burkina's national coordinator of coronavirus response, as announcing.

In Djibouti, first case of coronavirus was confirmed also on Wednesday.

Djibouti's Health Ministry confirmed the first case of the pandemic in the eastern African country.

The infected person, according to the ministry is a Spanish national who arrived in the country on March 14.

As per the statement from Djibouti Civil Aviation Authority, as of March 18, the Djibouti-Ambouli International Airport will be closed to all commercial passenger flights as a preventive measure over COVID-19 until further notice.

This prohibition will not include cargo flights which are authorized to operate normally.

Worldwide, out of over 204,000 confirmed cases, the death toll now hit 8,250, while more than 82,500 patients have recovered, according to Worldometer, a statistics website that compiles new case numbers.

The number of active cases is more than 112,500 -- 94% mild and 6% in critical condition, according to the website.

The World Health Organization has declared Europe the new epicenter of the virus, which first emerged in Wuhan, China last December.