KAMPALA – As coronavirus spreads across the globe, countries in Africa are taking preventive measures to keep the disease out and many are showing a strong level of preparedness to counter the spread of the virus.
There are now more than 100 cases recorded in 11 countries in Africa, according to the latest figures from the World Health Organization (WHO).
Egypt remains the nation with the most reported cases with 59, more than half of all confirmed cases on the continent.
Handwashing at bus stops in Rwanda.
Although there are no confirmed cases of coronavirus in Rwanda, citizens are being encouraged to maintain good hygiene.
Similarly, Kenya has not confirmed any cases of coronavirus, but it has opened a 120-bed quarantine center in the capital Nairobi. It also has two testing facilities, which countries in the region rely on.
While in South Africa, which has identified 13 cases of the virus so far, citizens can now walk into private laboratories and pay for private coronavirus tests costing around $75, according to local media report.
Uganda has banned visitors traveling from some ‘highly-hit’ countries, including the US, China, France, Germany, Iran, Italy, South Korea and Spain.
“Government has decided to ask travelers from the affected countries not to come to Uganda because the high cases they are reporting can easily be imported into the country,” health minister Jane Ruth Aceng said in a statement on Monday.
The countries with reported cases as of Wednesday, according to the World Health Organization, include the following:
Algeria — 20
Burkina Faso — 2
Cameroon — 2
Democratic Republic of Congo –1
Egypt — 59 (includes 1 death)
Morocco — 3 (includes 1 death)
Nigeria — 2
Senegal — 4
South Africa — 13
Tunisia — 5
Togo — 1.
