The case involved a 45-year-old man, who had recently travelled to Italy, the health ministry said on Wednesday.
Ivory Coast has recorded its first case of the deadly Coronavirus (COVID-19).
The case involved a 45-year-old man, who had recently travelled to Italy, the health ministry said on Wednesday.
The patient, according to the government, was being treated at a hospital in Abidjan, the capital, and he is said to be in a stable condition.
Ivory Coast is the eighth country in sub-Saharan Africa to confirm a case after Nigeria, Senegal, Cameroon, Togo, South Africa, Burkina Faso and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
South Africa announced six new cases of the virus on Wednesday, bringing the confirmed case of the COVID-19 to a total of 13 in Africa.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation has declared Coronavirus as a pandemic, urging countries to “double-down” on their efforts to stop the spread of the virus.
“WHO is deeply concerned by the alarming levels of the #Coronavirus spread, severity and inaction, and expects to see the number of cases, deaths and affected countries climb even higher. Therefore, we made the assessment that #COVID19 can be characterised as a pandemic,” Director-General of WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said.
Latest data indicates more than 118,000 cases of infection in 114 countries, and 4,291 deaths – a 13-fold increase outside China in the past two weeks, and a threefold rise in the number of affected countries.
While 81 countries have not reported any cases of the virus, 57 countries have reported 10 cases or less.