Congo records index case, Chad only Central Africa nation uninfected

Authorities in the Republic of Congo on Saturday confirmed the first case of coronavirus. With the development, only Chad is free from the virus in the Central African region.

According to Congolese Minister of Communication, Thierry Moungalla, the patient is a 50-year-old Franco-Congolese national who arrived in the country on 1st March from Paris after a brief stay in Amsterdam, Holland.

The patient has been quarantined and is been taken care of by health officials, he confirmed.

His wife, a French national and their 6-year-old daughter have been isolated and are under permanent surveillance while the tracing and search of other people whom he came into contact with is underway.

After Cameroon, Gabon and DRC, Congo is the fourth Central African country to report a confirmed case of the current coronavirus pandemic. The Central African Republic has also recorded a case according to the World health Organization’s Africa region.

The Congolese government has urged the population to be extremely vigilant and to respect the barrier gestures of shaking hands and maintaining a distance of more than one meter between individuals.