Senegal confirms two new coronavirus patients, both Europeans

Two new infections of coronavirus were detected in Senegal on Wednesday, bringing to four the number of people infected in the sub-Saharan nation, health officials said.

One of the new patients was a 68-year-old woman, a French resident who had arrived in Senegal on February 29. Her 80-year-old husband tested positive for the COVID-19 virus on Tuesday, the health ministry said in a statement.

Wednesday's second confirmed case was that of a 33-year-old man who arrived in Dakar from London on February 24.

The first virus case in Senegal, discovered on Monday, marked just the second infection in sub-Saharan Africa.

Experts have expressed concern over the continent's vulnerability to outbreaks of contagious diseases.

The first sub-Saharan case was recorded last week in Nigeria, where an Italian national returned with the virus from his home country

The first coronavirus case on the African continent was in Egypt, where there are now two cases.

Three cases have also been identified in Algeria.