Coronavirus will effect South Africa economy: President

By Hassan Isilow

PRETORIA (AA) - South Africa’s president warned Thursday the spread of the coronavirus will affect a number of sectors hugely impacting the country’s economy.

“This will turn out to be a national crisis. It will have a huge impact on travel, negatively impact on our economy which we all know is in a very precarious situation,” Cyril Ramaphosa said Thursday, hours after the first case of the virus, known as COVID-19, was detected in South Africa.

He said news about the case is already showing negative impact on tourism with some travelers changing plans.

“People I met this morning were saying flights to South Africa were already showing signs of more seats being available when ordinary they didn’t show that. So the effect is going to be big and South Africans need to be prepared,” he said.

Health officials confirmed Thursday the first diagnosed case in the country when a male, 38, tested positive after returning from a trip to Italy with his wife.

The couple was among 10 passengers who returned March 1 to South Africa from Italy.

The attending doctor was also quarantined, according to a statement.

A team of health experts has been deployed to the coastal province of KwaZulu-Natal where the patient and doctor reside.

Ramaphosa authorized last week the repatriation of nearly 200 South Africans from Wuhan, China -- the epicenter of the outbreak.

The novel coronavirus has now spread to more than 80 countries after emerging in China in December.

The global death toll exceeds 3,200, with more than 95,000 cases, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Notably, 52,000 former patients who contracted the virus have successfully recovered.

The WHO, which already declared the outbreak an international health emergency, recently updated the global risk level from high to “very high”.