The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) announced the country’s first case of the novel coronavirus Tuesday.
A Belgian citizen who has been in the country for several days tested positive for the coronavirus, said Health Minister Eteni Longondo.
The person was put in quarantine in a hospital in the capital city Kinshasa, he added.
”I would like to announce to the Congolese population that we diagnosed this morning the first case of coronavirus. It has been discovered in a Belgian national who has come to stay here for a few days,” Longondo said.
But he said there is no need to panic because the situation is under control and urged the public to calm down but put in practice preventive measures, especially those involving cleanliness.
The virus originated in China but has reached over 100 countries, with the the World Health Organization (WHO) saying Monday that the “threat of a pandemic has become very real.”
The global death toll from the coronavirus is now over 4,000, with nearly 114,000 confirmed cases.
As part of efforts to contain the outbreak, some governments closed borders and suspended land and air travel with the worst-hit countries.
DRC is 13000 kilometers away from Uganda.
