COVID-19 pandemic in Lesotho
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have reached Lesotho on 13 May 2020.[2]
| COVID-19 pandemic in Lesotho | |
|---|---|
| Disease | COVID-19 |
| Location | Lesotho |
| First outbreak | Wuhan, Hubei, China (suspected) 30°35′14″N 114°17′17″E / 30.58722°N 114.28806°E |
| Arrival date | 13 May 2020 (3 years, 6 months, 1 week and 4 days) |
| Confirmed cases | 576 [1] (as of 29 July) |
| Recovered | 141 [1] (as of 29 July) |
Deaths | 13 [1] (as of 29 July) |
| Government website | |
| About Coronavirus (COVID – 19) | |
Until May 2020, Lesotho was the last country in Africa to have no reported coronavirus disease 2019 cases during the global pandemic.[3][4]
The country did not have the ability to test for the virus,[5] and so, in order to prevent the spread of the virus the government closed its border with South Africa.[6]
On 18 March, the government declared a national emergency despite having no confirmed cases, and closed schools until 17 April (but allowed school meals to continue).
Arriving travelers were to be quarantined for 14 days upon arrival.[5] Prime Minister Thomas Thabane announced a three-week lock down from midnight 29 March.[7]
Lesotho began sending its samples to South Africa's National Institute for Communicable Diseases for testing.[8] Lesotho began lifting some aspects of the lockdown on 5 May.[9]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Lesotho Coronavirus: 1 Cases and 0 Deaths - Worldometer". www.worldometers.info. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
- ↑ "LESOTHO RECORDS FIRST COVID-19 CASE". Eyewitness News. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
- ↑ Silence Charumbira in Maseru. "Lesotho records first coronavirus case a week after lifting lockdown | World news". The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/13/lesotho-records-first-coronavirus-case-a-week-after-lifting-lockdown. Retrieved 2020-05-13.
- ↑ Coronavirus: All countries in Africa now have confirmed coronavirus after Lesotho is last with infection | World News. Sky News. 2019-03-22. https://news.sky.com/story/coronavirus-all-countries-in-africa-have-now-confirmed-covid-19-cases-after-lesotho-is-final-country-to-confirm-infection-11987704. Retrieved 2020-05-13.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Ngatane, Nthakoana. "Lesotho declares national emergency over COVID-19 outbreak". ewn.co.za. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
- ↑ "Covid-19: Lesotho seals borders amid infection fears while SA tourism suffers". IOL. 2020-03-13. Retrieved 2020-03-16.
- ↑ "Covid-19: Lesotho seals borders amid infection fears while SA tourism suffers". Sowetan Live. 2020-03-26. Retrieved 2020-03-26.
- ↑ COVID-19 EXCLUSIVE: Lesotho's Majoro pleads with Basotho not to return home. https://ewn.co.za/2020/04/15/covid-19-exclusive-lesotho-s-majoro-pleads-with-basotho-not-to-return-home. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
- ↑ Lesotho Eases Lockdown Restrictions With No Coronavirus Cases. 5 May 2020. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-05-05/lesotho-eases-lockdown-restrictions-with-no-coronavirus-cases. Retrieved 6 May 2020.