YAOUNDE, April 3 (Xinhua) -- Countries in Central Africa have heightened their measures to contain the spread of coronavirus amid an increase of cases.
Cameroon on Friday reported 203 new confirmed COVID-19 cases, bringing the total to 509, Health Minister Manaouda Malachie said at a press briefing.
Among the cases are eight deaths including a health professional and 17 recoveries, he added.
The Cameroonian health authorities tested 800 people, "mostly travelers," before obtaining positive results for the 203 new cases who are asymptomatic, Manaouda tweeted later in the evening.
"Our active case finding strategy is starting to pay off," he added.
Cameroon has the second largest coronavirus caseload in sub-Saharan Africa after South Africa, which has more than 1,500 confirmed cases, according to official statistics.
Equatorial Guinea on Friday recorded its 16th confirmed case of COVID-19, which is also the fourth case of local transmission, according to the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare.
In a presidential decree published the same day on the government's official website, Equatorial Guinea declared a "Health State of Alarm," and reiterated its response measures against COVID-19 previously decreed by the government.
The Central African Republic (CAR) currently has eight positive COVID-19 cases, including three recoveries, according to the official report.
The government fears a health crisis in a country still reeling from a long socio-security crisis.
Minister of Health and Population Pierre Somse said in a statement Friday that Central Africans are more vulnerable to COVID-19 because of poor living conditions, citing malnourished people and those living with HIV and other diseases. He also expressed worries about the capacity of health facilities in his country.
The minister urged the general public to comply with the COVID-19 measures decreed by the authorities.
