DR Congo confirms 2nd case of COVID-19

By James Tasamba

KIGALI, Rwanda (AA) – A second case of coronavirus has been confirmed in the Democratic Republic of Congo, local media reported on Friday.

The patient is a Cameroonian living in DR Congo, who returned to the country from France on March 8, said a report citing Congolese Health Minister Eteni Longondo.

“A Cameroonian who lives in the DR Congo with his family went on vacation to France and returned to Kinshasa on March 8,” said Longondo.

"When he returned, he showed no symptoms, but later started to feel sick. He alerted the health services and tested positive for the coronavirus."

Currently, the patient is being cared for by a coronavirus response team in the capital Kinshasa.

Other African countries with confirmed COVID-19 cases include Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Algeria, Nigeria, Senegal, Cameroon, Tunisia, South Africa, and Morocco.

The coronavirus outbreak originated in Wuhan, China, but has now reached over 120 countries and territories.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the global death toll is nearly 5,000 and there are more than 130,000 confirmed cases around the world.

Earlier this week, the WHO declared the crisis a pandemic but its head, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said the outbreak is controllable.