Senegal’s health ministry on Tuesday reported the second coronavirus case in the country, reported Reuters.
The patient, who flew to Togo from France last week, tested positive for coronavirus. The total number of cases in sub-Saharan Africa has now increased to three.
The 80-year-old man from the Sarcelles suburb of Paris arrived in Senegal on Feb. 29 and presented himself at a hospital in the capital Dakar on March 2. He was quarantined at the Fann Hospital after seeking care at a private clinic.
The patient’s condition is stable and authorities are working to find people have been in contact with the man, according to an official statement released by the health ministry.
“His clinical status is stable and all efforts have been taken to identify those he was in contact with,” the health ministry said in statement, without giving further details.
Senegal confirmed its first coronavirus case on Monday. The patient is a French man who lives in Senegal and came back from a holiday in France on Feb. 26 on an Air Senegal flight.
The Senegalese health ministry has said it is tracking down the other passengers who travelled with the first patient on the Air Senegal flight and is monitoring his wife and two children.
On Monday, Senegalese President Macky Sall announced a $2 million emergency response plan to deal with the situation. The health ministry said it has taken various measures to promote hygiene measures ahead of a series of domestic pilgrimages scheduled in March.
North African countries Algeria, Egypt and Tunisia have also confirmed cases of the virus.
The rapid spread of the deadly corona virus worldwide has increased fears of a pandemic, prompting governments to take immediate control measures.
There were more than 90,000 cases globally, with more than 80,000 in China, and infections in 77 other countries and territories as of Tuesday, according to a Reuters tally.
