Congo records index case, Chad only Central Africa nation uninfected

<p>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.</p> <p>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.</p> <p>The patient has been quarantined and is been taken care of by health officials, he confirmed.</p> <p>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.</p> <p>After Cameroon, Gabon and <span class="caps">DRC</span>, 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.</p> <p>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.</p>