eSwatini confirms first coronavirus case

eSwatini has registered its first confirmed novel coronavirus (COVID-19) case, according to the country’s health ministry.

Health Minister Lizzie Nkosi said the case was confirmed on Friday. A 33-year-old woman who returned from the United States at the end of February, and then travelled to Lesotho before going home to eSwatini, was currently in isolation.

“She came back on March 7 and was later seen by a private doctor who took a sample for laboratory testing on March 11. The test was confirmed positive in a South African laboratory. The patient is stable and has been taken for isolation and monitoring,” Nkosi said.

This brings the number of countries with confirmed cases in the region to three after South Africa and Namibia.

Rwanda also confirmed its first case.