By Stanley Ugagbe
The war against the ravaging pandemic may have come to an end in Eritrea as the nation has officially declared itself virus-free after all 39 patients successfully recovered from COVID-19.
As of 15 May, a Ministry of Health statement said the 39th patient had been discharged from hospital.
Recall that as of May 8, there were only two active cases, one of which was discharged on the 11th before the final case recovered and was discharge on Friday.
Eritrea follows the likes of Mauritania and Mauritius who have recorded full recoveries. However, Mauritania has since recorded new cases.
As of May 15, Eritrea is among a handful of African countries that have not recorded deaths; others are Madagascar, Central Africa Republic, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, Lesotho, Rwanda and Uganda.
Meanwhile, Mauritius had on May 11 declared total recoveries from coronavirus infections. According to the island nation’s official COVID-19 page, 322 people had recovered out of the 332 confirmed cases so far. 10 people have since died.
May 11 marked the fifteenth consecutive day that the no new case was recorded in the country. A lockdown however remains in place to contain possible spread of the virus.
Lesotho is the sole African country yet to record a case.
