Corona virus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered corona virus. COVID 19 is caused by one virus, called severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus 2, or SARS-CoV 2.s The virus can spread from an infected persons mouth or nose in small liquid particles when they cough, sneeze, speak, sing and breathe. One can be infected by breathing in the virus if near someone who has COVID-19 or by touching a contaminated surface and then the eyes, nose and mouth. The virus spreads more easily indoors and in crowded settings. The most common symptoms of covid-19 are fever, cough, tiredness and loss of taste or smell. Testing for covid-19 is done through antigen rapid diagnostic tests (Ag RDTs) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests which require laboratory facilities to be carried out. The outbreak of corona virus, also known as COVID-19, began in Wuhan, China in December 2019. The virus is spreading globally at an alarming rate, with 1,341,907 confirmed infections and 74,476 deaths as of April 7, 2020. Although COVID-19 has been slow to take root in Africa, cases are now spreading rapidly. Since the first case was recorded on the continent on February 14, 2020, Africa has registered 10,018 cases and 484 deaths as of April 7 2020. Within Eastern Africa and the Great Lakes Region, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda have the highest number of confirmed cases, respectively 161 and 105, followed by Kenya (158), Uganda (52), Ethiopia (44) and Tanzania (24). South Sudan also registered its first case on April 5. The number of new infections and deaths is expected to continue to rise on a daily basis as long as there is continued contact, both direct and indirect, between infected persons and uninfected members of the population, and the number of uninfected potential hosts within the population is large.

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