DAKAR, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Senegal's Ministry of Health and Social Action on Wednesday reported 122 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing the total to 5,369 in the country.
The 122 were 111 follow-up contact cases and 11 community-transmission ones, health ministry spokesperson Alyose Waly Diouf told a daily briefing on the pandemic.
He said a total of 970 tests were carried out in the past 24 hours, and 81 more patients were discharged from hospitals across Senegal, bringing to 3,606 the total number of recoveries.
Sixteen COVID-19 patients are in intensive care, the spokesman said.
The death toll of the pandemic rose by three in the past 24 hours. A total of 73 patients have lost their lives in Senegal, which reported its first confirmed case on March 2.
Although a state of emergency remains in force in Senegal, the government has eased some restrictive measures. Domestic flights have resumed since June 15, but no international flights are scheduled before June 30.
Senegalese president Macky Sall will participate in an extraordinary China-Africa summit later Wednesday on solidarity against COVID-19. The summit is jointly proposed by China; South Africa, the rotating chair of the African Union; and Senegal, co-chair of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation. It will be held via video link. Enditem
