Rwanda's first coronavirus patient is an Indian

Rwanda's first coronavirus case is an Indian who travelled there from Mumbai, health officials confirmed on Saturday.

The country's health ministry, in a statement, said that the Indian citizen arrived here from Mumbai on March 8.

"The patient had no symptoms upon arrival in Rwanda and reported himself to a health facility on March 13, where he was immediately tested," the ministry said on Twitter.



He is currently under treatment in stable condition, isolated from others, the statement added, saying that all contacts are being traced for further management.

The number of cases in Rwanda has since risen to five, and included a man of Rwandese nationality with no recent history of travel.

The ministry said in a statement the four new cases included a 34-year-old man who arrived from South Sudan on March 6 and his brother, who also had a recent history of travel.

A fourth person, a 22-year-old man of Ugandan nationality, arrived in Rwanda from London on Sunday. The case of the man with no history of travel testing positive would suggest transmission within the community.

This is the second case in east Africa, after Kenya recorded the first case of COVID-19 on Friday.

Several African governments have closed borders, cancelled flights and imposed strict entry and quarantine requirements to try to contain the spread of the outbreak.