DAKAR, April 26 (Xinhua) -- Senegalese ministry of Health and Social Action reported on Sunday 57 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of cases to 671 in the country.
According to hte spokesperson of Senegalese health ministry Alyose Waly Diouf, among the 579 virological examinations carried out within the past 24 hours, 57 came back positive, including 47 follow-up contact cases and 9 cases of community transmission.
For the first time since April 4, Senegal reported one imported case in the southern region of Kolda.
The eighth death due to COVID-19 was also registered on Sunday by the Senegalese health ministry after the autopsy showed a man died at home tested positive.
So far, Senegal has reported 671 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since March 2. Among those confirmed cases, 510 are close contacts cases, 86 are imported ones and 75 are due to community transmission. Eight patients have lost their lives to COVID-19. A total of 283 patients have been declared cured in Senegal.
On Friday, Senegalese health minister Abdoulaye Diouf Sarr annonced his ministry would "considerably increase the number of samples taken per day, in order to allow the identification of a maximum of asymptomatic carriers."
He also insisted on mandatory wearing of masks in markets and other public places in order to avoid community transmission of the virus.
Senegalese president Macky Sall extended the current state of emergency in a presidential decree on April 4, along with the dusk-to-dawn curfew for 30 days, till May 4.
The country has isolated itself since March 20 midnight when all its international passenger flights were suspended. Enditem
