Burkina Faso has announced its first death from Covid-19, the respiratory illness caused by coronavirus.

The authorities say the patient was a diabetic woman aged 62 years.

“This tragic event calls us all to recognise the scale and seriousness of the problem which confronts us all,” said Martial Ouedraogo, the West African nation’s Covid-19 response co-ordinator.

“This is a very contagious illness that is potentially fatal and that for now has no treatment aside from prevention.”

Burkina Faso has confirmed a total of 26 cases, including its first case in Bobo-Dioulasso, the country’s second largest city.

Nigeria

Nigeria has placed a travel ban on people coming from 13 countries worst affected by the coronavirus outbreak as five new cases were recorded in Africa’s most-populous nation.

That brings the country’s total number of patients with Covid-19 to eight.

Health Minister Osagie Ehanire said contact tracing for the new cases was ongoing. All the five had travelled to the UK and/or the US.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) tweeted about the cases, urging Nigerians to remain calm:

Travellers from China, Italy, Iran, South Korea, Spain, Japan, France, Germany, the US, Norway, the UK, the Netherlands and Switzerland will not be able to come to the West African from Saturday 21 March.

Nigerians have also been advised to cancel or postpone all non-essential travel to these countries, which all have reported more than 1,000 cases.

The BBC’s Chris Ewokor in the capital, Abuja, says Nigerians returning to the country must now self-isolate for 14 days.

South Africa

On Tuesday, the government also placed an indefinite ban on all public officials from embarking on foreign trips, he says.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has met leaders of the country’s main political parties and has appealed for solidarity in the fight against coronavirus.

At a news conference, opposition politicians confirmed they were backing the government’s efforts.

But the interim leader of the Democratic Alliance, John Steenhuisen, urged the government to do all it could to protect jobs and limit the damage to the already struggling economy.

Source: BBC