COVID-19: Guinea-Bissau's PM, 3 ministers test positive

ANKARA Guinea-Bissau’s premier and three government ministers tested positive for the novel coronavirus, local media reported Wednesday. Prime Minister Nuno Gomes Na Biam and the trio of ministers were immediately quarantined at a hotel in the capital of Bissau, Health Minister Antonio Deuna said. Na Biam, a former presidential candidate, was appointed prime minister in February. Deuna invited the country to respect COVID-19 preventive measures and said the situation is becoming more serious. The news came days after President Umaro Sissoco Embalo placed a major order for COVID-organics from Madagascar. Organic concoction is said to cure virus-infected patients. The West African country, with a population of nearly 2 million has 73 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with one death, and 18 recoveries, according to figures compiled by the US-based Johns Hopkins University. Guinea-Bissau recorded its first COVID-19 death last Saturday, causing the president to extend a nationwide state of emergency to May 11.