Niger has registered its first case of coronavirus on Thursday, Public Health Minister, Dr. Idi Illiassou Mainassara, said in a statement copied to APA on Friday.
The patient is a 36-year-old Nigerien national, a warehouseman for a land transport company who travelled along the Lomé, Accra, Abidjan and Ouagadougou route, Mainassara explained.
The Minister reassured that the patient is already being treated by the competent services and that his condition is stable.
Mainassara’s announcement was followed by an emergency meeting of the various religious organizations in Niger, including Christian communities, which decided to suspend until further notice all Sunday services and all other meetings in churches.
The announcement of the first case of Covid-19 in the Niger also came 48 hours after President Issoufou Mahamadou’s address to the nation where he listed a series of measures ranging from the closure of the country’s international airports to the closure of schools and universities, and the banning of gatherings of more than 50 people throughout the national territory.
From Friday 20 March, among other preventive measures, President Issoufou announced the closure of land borders for a renewable period of two weeks, except for the transport of goods.
Gatherings during baptisms, weddings and any other form of ceremony are prohibited as well as workshops and other seminars until further notice.
SA/te/lb/abj/APA