Burkina Faso's first COVID-19 death claims top lawmaker

Burkina Faso has joined the list of African countries to have recorded corona-virus related death. Authorities announced the first COVID-19 death on Wednesday.

The country’s confirmed cases as at Wednesday (March 18) is at 26 with over 230 contacts being monitored. Other African countries that have reported fatalities include Egypt, Morocco, Algeria and Sudan.

The authorities say the patient was a diabetic woman aged 62 years. Some reports on social media say it is a top lawmaker, Ms Rose Marie Compaore, who was the first-vice president of the parliament.

“This tragic event calls us all to recognise the scale and seriousness of the problem which confronts us all,” said Martial Ouedraogo, Burkina Faso’s COVID-19 response coordinator.

“This is a very contagious illness that is potentially fatal and that for now has no treatment aside from prevention,” he stressed.

COVID-19 is the respiratory illness caused by coronavirus. The West African country says the cases are concentrated in the capital Ouagadougou with Bobo-Dioulasso, the country’s second largest city, recording its first case recently.

J'ai le profond regret de porter à la connaissance de Mesdames et Messieurs les députés et du personnel administratif le décès du député COMPAORE Rose Marie 2e Vice-Présidente survenu le mardi 17 mars au CHU de Tengandogo. A la famille éplorée nous présentons nos sincères pic.twitter.com/huTyiER12r

— Alassane Bala Sakande (@SakandeBala) March 18, 2020