Madagascar Reports First Death From COVID-19

Madagascar has registered its first coronavirus death, two months after its index case, the national COVID-19 taskforce said on Sunday, according to news site Reuters.

The taskforce spokeswoman, Hanta Vololontiana, was quoted by Reuters to have said in a televised statement that the man had died on Saturday night.

“A man died from COVID-19 in Madagascar … he is 57 years old and a member of the medical staff,” she said.

The first casualty of the island on the east coast of Africa was said to be a 57-year-old medical worker who suffered from diabetes and high blood pressure.

Before this death Madagascar was among countries that had not recorded death from the novel coronavirus.

Malagasy President Andry Rajoelina had been in the news since April when his country launched a home grown tonic claimed to cure the dreaded virus.