Côte d’Ivoire's suspected student tests negative for coronavirus

January 30, 2020 3:29 PM

Cote d’Ivoire’s health authorities have said that a suspected case of coronavirus in the country has tested negative.

There was suspicion of the case after an Ivorian student who travelled from Beijing to Abidjan over the weekend showed flu-like symptoms.

This heightened the fear of the disease spreading in West Africa.

A statement from the Ivorian health ministry said that tests by research institutes in Côte d’Ivoire and France had come back negative for the virus.

The 34-year-old student was quarantined whilst the tests were carried out.

The ministry added that she is been treated for her symptoms and is recovering.

If the results turned out positive, this would have been the first confirmed case in Africa.

Meanwhile, four other suspected cases have been isolated in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa. The four include three students who were travelling from the epicentre of the outbreak in Wuhan in China.Officials from the Health Ministry there say initial tests were negative.

Kenya has also isolated another student from Wuhan who arrived in Nairobi on Tuesday.