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Shift Media News 
|SHIFTMEDIA| Uganda and its 53 other sister nations in Africa are to receive health kits to help combat the spread of the Coronavirus courtesy Chinese billionaire Jack Ma.
Ma, the co-founder of Alibaba, in a statement on March 16, 2020, indicated that he is donating test kits, face masks and other protective suits to Africa.
“To each of the 54 African countries, we will donate 20,000 test kits, 100,000 masks, and 1,000 medical use protective suits and face shields,” his statement read.
The world has been hit with the COVID-19, a zoonotic disease with flu-like symptoms that has been claiming the lives of people around the globe.
After breaking out in China, the disease has spread into many other countries and it is on all continents of the world now.
While incidence on the African continent had been relatively minimal, Ma believes “Africa can be one step ahead of the coronavirus” with the proper help.
Over 30 African countries have recorded cases of Coronavirus as of now with Egypt, South Africa, and Algeria, DRC, Ghana, Tanzania, Rwanda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia among others.
Ma’s donation is to help curb “potential surging demands for medical supplies and equipment in Africa” that may arise from an increase in the number of cases.
The donation from Ma has come in a timely manner as Africa has an increase in the number of cases in the last few days.
Somalia and Tanzania to the east and Liberia and Benin in West Africa. Benin reported its first coronavirus case via a government statement that disclosed that the said patient was a 49-year-old Burkinabe citizen who entered the country last week, March 12.
The government said the patient had been isolated and contact tracing was underway. It also advised the public to observe strict hygiene to ensure that they are protected. Benin is the ninth West African country to record a case.
The government had weeks back set aside 7 billion CFA for intervention purposes. Togo’s index case had crossed into the country using the land border with Benin.
Liberia, on the other hand, confirmed first the case of how the virus was imported by a government official who recently returned from Switzerland. The head of Liberia’s environmental protection agency is currently in isolation, whiles contact tracing is underway.
In an address after the confirmation, president George Weah called for concerted efforts to combat the COVID19 virus including observing good personal hygiene. He stressed that the government will do all it takes to ensure that citizens are safe.
Over in Tanzania, Health Minister confirmed the first case of a Tanzanian woman who only returned to the country yesterday. She is in isolation at a government hospital, local media outlets report.
Somalia’s first case of coronavirus was announced on national TV by the health minister, Fowsiya Abukar. The patient she said is a Somali national who has recently returned from abroad.
The authorities also announced a suspension on all international flights for two weeks, starting on 18 March. Even though last week a category of travellers from high-risk countries were banned from entry.
Currently in West Africa only Sierra Leone, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, The Gambia, Mali, Niger – are uninfected. In the case of East Africa and the Horn of Africa region, Eritrea, South Sudan, Uganda, and Burundi have not recorded cases.
