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The southern African country of Lesotho registered its first case of coronavirus, its health ministry said, making it the last nation on the continent to confirm an infection.
The ministry said on Wednesday it had conducted 81 tests for coronavirus on travelers from neighboring South Africa and Saudi Arabia, one of which was positive, while the results of another 301 tests are awaited.
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“The Ministry of Health informs the Basotho nation and the entire community living in Lesotho that the country now has the first confirmed case of COVID-19,” said Director-General Dr. Nyane Letsie.
The patient is a citizen of Lesotho who studies in Saudi Arabia.
The high-altitude kingdom of more than two million citizens is surrounded by its largest and most industrialized neighbor, South Africa.
Lesotho closed on March 29 to protect itself from a possible spread of the virus from South Africa, which has registered more than 10,000 cases – The highest on the African continent.
Lesotho Prime Minister Thomas Thabane loosened the restrictions on May 6 allowing “all non-essential services and businesses” to “temporarily open their stores.”
Africa has confirmed nearly 70,000 cases of COVID-19, including 2,421 deaths and 23,857 recoveries, according to a Reuters news agency count based on government statements and WHO data.
Almost 4.3 million people worldwide have been infected since the virus appeared in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December last year. More than 293,500 people have died.
The disease struck at a time of political uncertainty in Lesotho, and Thabane will retire at the end of next week after his coalition collapsed in parliament.
His departure would open the way for a solution to a political crisis that erupted late last year, when he and his current wife were accused by police of murdering his ex-wife almost three years ago. They both deny the charges.
It is not clear when the resign, although Parliament has already provisionally appointed Finance Minister Moeketsi Majoro as his replacement.
