Ivory Coast tests first person of coronavirus in Africa as 80 people die in China

In Ivory Coast, health specialists are investigating a suspected case of ‘Wuhan coronavirus’ in a female student who arrived from China, officials have reported.

ONYXNEWSNG gathered that the student, whom specialists have not named, is the first person to be tested for the virus on the continent.

In a statement published by Ivory Coast’s Ministry of Health and Public Hygiene, the 34-year-old student travelled from Beijing to the Félix-Houphouët-Boigny International Airport in Abidjan on Saturday and was coughing, sneezing and experienced difficulty breathing.

According to the Ministry, the student was moved to a safe location upon arrival at the airport and is currently under medical observation.

Wuhan coronavirus has killed at least 80 people in mainland China, with almost 2,800 cases confirmed across the country, initiating emergency processes to try and restraint in the pathogen’s global spread.

Making that task more tough, the virus can be spread before any symptoms appear, Chinese health authorities said Sunday, meaning carriers may not realize they are infected before they transmit the virus to others.

Across China, 15 cities with a combined population of over 57 million people — more than the entire population of South Korea — have been placed on restriction.