Coronavirus: Gabon confirms first COVID-19 death case

ANKARA (AA) - Gabon on Friday confirmed the first death in the country due to the novel coronavirus.

The patient was 50 years old and had recently returned from France, the local Gabonreview news website reported.

He had suffered from diabetes and hypertension, according to the website.

On March 13, Gabon confirmed its first COVID-19 case, with the number of patients rising to three as of Friday, according to data compiled by the U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University.

More than 600 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in 34 countries in Africa as of March 19, compared with 147 cases a week ago, World Health Organization (WHO) regional director Matshidiso Moeti said on Thursday.

COVID-19 emerged in Wuhan, China last December, and has spread to at least 163 countries and territories. The World Health Organization declared the outbreak a pandemic.

Out of more than 254,000 confirmed cases, the death toll now exceeds 10,000, and over 87,000 have recovered, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Despite the rising number of cases, most who become infected suffer only mild symptoms and recover.

*Felix Tih contributed to this story from Ankara, Turkey.