Senegalese Ministry of Health and Social Action reported Sunday morning three new cases of COVID-19 and ten more cured patients, bringing the country's total number of confirmed cases and cured to 222 and 82 respectively, Trend reports citing Xinhua.
Senegalese Health Minister Aboudulaye Diouf Sarr said among 92 tests done, 3 came back positive, including 2 close contacts of earlier confirmed patients and 1 community transmission case.
This is the first time that Senegal hasn't detected any imported cases since March 13.
The health minister also announced ten more patients has been tested negative with COVID-19, so considered as cured.
Among the 222 confirmed cases, 85 are imported ones. Besides two deaths, one was evacuated back to his country, and a total of 82 patients have been declared cured by local health authorities, highest in West Africa.
Senegal celebrated Saturday its 60th anniversary of independance from France. A military ceremony was held in presidential palace instead of a traditional military and civil parade due to the severe COVID-19 situation in the country.
On Saturday night, Senegalese President Macky Sall extended in a presidential decree the current state of emergency, along with the dusk-to-dawn curfew for 30 days, till May 4.
Sall on Friday announced measures to deal with the economic impact caused by the COVID-19 epidemic, as he predicted the country's economic growth would drop from 6.8 percent to less than 3 percent.
"Sectors such as tourism, hotels, catering, transport, trade, culture, and public works, among others are badly affected. Our sustained economic growth over several years is brutally slowed and will drop from 6.8 percent to less than 3 percent," he said.
Facing the coronavirus emergency, Sall said he had set up an Economic and Social Resilience Program to strengthen the health system and support households, businesses and their employees.
The program will provide the health sector with 64.4 billion Francs CFA (about 10 million U.S. dollars) to cover all expenses related to the response to COVID-19.