According to a statement from the World Health Organisation (WHO) issued late on Tuesday, the DRC ministry of public health reported the country’s first case of COVID-19. Health authorities said tests found that a Congolese national, who had recently returned to Kinshasa from his residence in France, had tested positive for the virus.

The DRC is one of eleven countries in Africa to have confirmed cases of COVID-19. The other countries are Algeria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa, Senegal, Togo and Tunisia. 

This comes as the biggest Ebola outbreak in the history of the central African nation appears to be winding down, with no new cases of the disease confirmed in the past 21 days. Last week the last Ebola patient in the country was discharged from a treatment centre in the north-eastern town of Beni. 

“It is sad to hear that just as the DRC appears to be near ending its worst Ebola outbreak, a new virus is threatening the health of its citizens,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO regional director for Africa. 

“However, some of the readiness efforts put in place during the Ebola outbreak may help the country respond to COVID-19. WHO is here to support you, just as we continue to do in the Ebola response,” she said.

The WHO has provided technical and material support to countries in Africa, including the DRC since the COVID-19 outbreak was declared to be a public health emergency of international concern. 

The organisation said it has provided testing kits to the National Institute for Biomedical Research (INRB) in Kinshasa and other national laboratories as well as training to laboratory technicians. Thirty-nine laboratories in the WHO African region can now test for COVID-19. 

The WHO has dispatched personal protective equipment for health workers, as well as thermometers and other essential supplies for the screening and handling of suspected cases at airports and other points of entry.

While there is still much to learn about COVID-19, people can take actions to prevent the disease through simple, day-to-day measures, WHO said, these include regular handwashing with soap and water, coughing into a tissue or a bent elbow and being sure to safely dispose of the tissue afterwards. 

African News Agency (ANA)