People coming from China are being screened when they arrive in African airportsImage caption: People coming from China are being screened when they arrive in African airports

Côte d’Ivoire student tests negative for coronavirus

bbc.com International News Jan - 30 - 2020 , 13:07

A suspected case of coronavirus in the Côte d’Ivoire has tested negative, according to the country’s health authorities.

A student who had travelled from Beijing to Abidjan over the weekend had shown flu-like symptoms, sparking fears the disease had spread to West Africa.

In a statement, 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 kept in quarantine whilst tests were carried out.

According to the ministry she's been treated for her symptoms and is recovering well.

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

Another four suspected cases have been isolated in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa, including three students travelling from the epicentre of the outbreak in Wuhan in China.

Officials from the Health Ministry there say initial tests were negative. Meanwhile Kenya has isolated another student from Wuhan who arrived in Nairobi on Tuesday.