08 Apr 2020

Five out of the six confirmed COVID-19 cases in Botswana were imported.

A press release from the National Emergency Operation Centre in Gaborone says since January 30, 1 154 laboratory tests were performed and resulted with 1 148 negative results and six positive results with one death.

The release says it is a growing concern that individuals do not adhere to home quarantine protocols, therefore non-compliance could exacerbate the rate of transmission.

That, it says, is evidenced by one confirmed case with no travel history, but linked to a confirmed case with history of travel to affected countries.

On one hand, the release says SADC countries continue to record an increase in new cases, adding that there is an average of 99 new cases reported each day as of April 1 with South Africa leading with 289 cases in the past five days.

It further states that there are 9 088 confirmed cases and 395 deaths in Africa as of April 4.

Meanwhile, it says Angola and eSwatini are the only SADC member states that have confirmed cases with no local transmission while Lesotho remains the only country which has not reported a confirmed case. ENDS