The COVID-19 pandemic in Gabon was a part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of

coronavirus disease 2019 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

() caused by

severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2) is a strain of coronavirus that causes COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019), the respiratory illness responsible for the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The virus previously had a ...

(). The virus was confirmed to have reached

Gabon Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north ...

in March 2020. __TOC__

Background

On 12 January 2020, the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...

(WHO) confirmed that a

novel coronavirus Novel coronavirus (nCoV) is a provisional name given to coronaviruses of medical significance before a permanent name is decided upon. Although coronaviruses are endemic in humans and infections normally mild, such as the common cold (caused by ...

was the cause of a respiratory illness in a cluster of people in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China, which was reported to the WHO on 31 December 2019. The

case fatality ratio In epidemiology, case fatality rate (CFR) – or sometimes more accurately case-fatality risk – is the proportion of people diagnosed with a certain disease, who end up dying of it. Unlike a disease's mortality rate, the CFR does not take int ...

for COVID-19 has been much lower than SARS of 2003, but the

transmission Transmission may refer to: Medicine, science and technology * Power transmission ** Electric power transmission ** Propulsion transmission, technology allowing controlled application of power *** Automatic transmission *** Manual transmission *** ...

has been significantly greater, with a significant total death toll.

Timeline

March 2020

* The country's first case was announced on 12 March, a 27-year-old Gabonese man who returned to Gabon from

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, four days prior to confirmation of the coronavirus. * On 17 March, two additional cases were confirmed in the country, including a woman who works at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She visited

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

and

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

before returning to the country. * On 20 March, the first death was confirmed. * On 24 March, diagnosed cases increased to six with the Ministry of Health announcing two new cases: a 45-year-old Togolese national and resident of Gabon who recently returned from Senegal on 11 March, and a 42-year-old Gabonese national who returned from France on 19 March. * During the month there were 7 confirmed cases, one death and six active cases at the end of the month.

Subsequent cases

* 2020 cases There were 9,571 confirmed cases in 2020. 9,388 patients recovered while 64 persons died. At the end of 2020 there were 119 active cases. * 2021 cases Vaccination began on 23 March, initially with 100,000 doses of the Sinopharm BIBP vaccine donated by China. There were 32,227 confirmed cases in 2021, bringing the total number of cases to 41,798. 28,111 patients recovered in 2021 while 224 persons died, bringing the total death toll to 288. At the end of 2021 there were 4,011 active cases. Modelling by WHO's Regional Office for Africa suggests that due to under-reporting, the true cumulative number of infections by the end of 2021 was around one million while the true number of COVID-19 deaths was around 323. * 2022 cases There were 7,182 confirmed cases in 2022, bringing the total number of cases to 48,980. 11,169 patients recovered in 2022 while 18 persons died, bringing the total death toll to 306. At the end of 2022 there were six active cases. * 2023 cases There were 12 confirmed cases in the first five months, bringing the total number of cases to 48,992. The total death toll rose to 307. At the end of May there were nine active cases.

Statistics

Confirmed new cases per day Confirmed deaths per day

References

{{COVID-19 pandemic

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...