Sudan on Friday reported the first case of the novel coronavirus following the death of a 50-year-old man, reported Reuters.
“The infected was a man in his 50s living in Khartoum locality in Khartoum State. He died on Thursday,” the Sudanese health ministry said in a statement on Friday.
According to the health ministry, the man had visited the United Arab Emirates, which confirmed 74 cases on Tuesday, in the first week of March.
The ministry said it had taken more measures to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus as part of a national plan to combat the virus. The people have been warned to stay away from mass gatherings, and the government has ordered the health ministry and military medical services to make quarantine centers.
On Thursday, the Sudanese government issued an entry ban on the citizens from eight countries hit by COVID-19, including South Korea, China, Italy, Iran, France, Spain, Japan, and Egypt.
The Sudan government has advised its citizens to avoid traveling the coronavirus hit countries and announced that it would stop granting visas to nationals of those countries. The government has also closed the country’s border crossings with Egypt, which has confirmed 80 cases of coronavirus and two deaths.
In related news, EgyptAir has canceled its flights to Khartoum starting Friday, after the Sudan Civil Aviation Authority called out for suspension of flights between Egypt and Sudan to help stop the spread of coronavirus.
The deadly virus, officially known as COVID-19, has currently spread to at least 123 countries and territories. The virus has already killed around 5,000 people worldwide, with more than 132,500 confirmed cases, according to the World Health Organization, which declared the outbreak a pandemic.
Some other African countries including Ethiopia, Guinea, and Kenya also reported their first confirmed cases of the new coronavirus on Friday, giving the disease a foothold in 18 countries in Africa.
