The first known African to have contracted the deadly Coronavirus is on his way to full recovery.
The Cameroonian student is reported to be recovering after being diagnosed with the virus that has hit some parts of the world for months now.
The student, Kem Senou Pavel Daryl, the Chinese embassy to Cameroon said contracted the virus when he was living in Zhengzhou, the capital of China’s Henan province, according to Business in Cameroon.
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He began treatments of intense antibiotics and other medicines usually administered to HIV patients after having flu-like symptoms, a dry cough and a fever on January 28.
The 21-year-old student has since been discharged from the hospital and is recovering in his dormitory. Nonetheless, he has been quarantined for two weeks before he will be allowed to mix with the general populace.
No other African victims of the virus has been reported and a recent CT scan proves that there are no traces of the virus in his system. This undoubtedly makes him the first African to be infected and totally cured of the Coronavirus.
Daryl told the BBC of the reasons why he’d want to stay in China even after his traumatic ordeal that could have left him lifeless.
He said, “No matter what happens I don’t want to take the sickness back to Africa.”
He is also very practical about his current situation and admits his medical expenses and recovery is currently being sponsored by the Chinese government.
“I don’t want to go home before finishing studying,” he explained. “I think there is no need to return home because all hospital fees were taken care of by the Chinese government.”
Although about 2,118 people have died from the Coronavirus (Covid 19) in China and there are about 15 confirmed cases currently in the United States, experts say there is no need to panic yet.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said the likelihood of catching the illness in the U.S. is minimal.
Fauci added Americans have neglected the more common viruses around them but it’s about time they took more interest in them.
“We have more kids dying of flu this year at this time than in the last decade or more,” Fauci told USA Today.
“At the same time, people are worrying about going to a Chinese restaurant. The threat is [we have] a pretty bad influenza season, particularly dangerous for our children.”
