Felix Tih
20 March 2020•Update: 21 March 2020
ANKARA
Burkina Faso’s education minister said he has tested positive for the coronavirus.
"Following various flu symptoms that appeared on March 16, and March 17, I was sampled by authorized health workers on Wednesday March 18, 2020.
"The diagnosis received in the evening of March 19, 2020 revealed that I am positive for the coronavirus," Stanislas Ouaro said in a statement late Thursday.
He also said he was in confinement for a few days pending the test results and urged people to follow the safety instructions.
Burkina Faso on Wednesday announced its first death due to the new coronavirus, officially known as COVID-19.
The West African country has 40 confirmed cases.
More than 600 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in 34 countries in Africa as of March 19, compared with 147 cases a week ago, according to Dr Matshidiso Moeti, World Health Organization’s (WHO) regional director for Africa said on Thursday.
The global death toll from novel coronavirus has soared past 10,000 on Friday, according to the figures compiled by U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University.
The virus, which emerged in Wuhan, China last December, has spread to at least 163 countries and regions around the globe, while the tally of confirmed cases exceeded 245,400.
