Togo confirms first coronavirus case

The West African country of Togo has registered its first case of coronavirus, its government said on Friday.

The patient is a 42-year old female resident of the capital Lome who had visited Benin, Germany, France and Turkey in late February and early March.

According to available information, she is being treated in isolation and her condition is stable, the government said in a statement.

But urging the public not to panic, authorities said they had been preparing for such a situation.

The statement said the ‘stable’ woman had been quarantined in Lome while other people who had come into contact with her had also been quarantined.

Togo becomes the eighth African country to record a case of coronavirus, also known as COVID-19.

Egypt, Algeria, Nigeria, Senegal, Tunisia, South Africa and Cameroon have recorded deadly infections, albeit single digit cases.

There have been no fatalities in Africa as the epidemic grounds to a halt, with public activity across Europe and Asia.

Health experts are still trying to understand how Africa has been largely spared the blushes of a viral disease that has killed more than 3,000 globally.