Coronavirus: Cameroon confirms its first case

The first case of the deadly coronavirus, formally known as COVID-19, has been reported in Cameroon, the minister of public health has confirmed.

The patient is a 58-year-old French citizen who arrived in the capital, Yaoundé, on 24 February.

He has been placed in solitary confinement at Yaoundé Central Hospital. "All measures have been taken by the government to contain potential risks of the virus spreading," it said in a statement.

This is coming two days after Senegal confirmed its second case, a day after South-Africa confirmed its first case.

As at the time of this report, the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases on the African continent has moved up to 29. [Reuters]

Other African countries that have reported coronavirus cases are Nigeria, Senegal, Algeria, Morocco, Egypt, Tunisia and South Africa.

Since the coronavirus outbreak began in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in December, it has infected almost 100,000 people worldwide and killed more than 3,000, mostly in China.