ANKARA 

The Chadian government on Thursday confirmed its first case of the new coronavirus within its borders, according to media reports.

The patient is a Moroccan national who travelled to Chad from Douala, Cameroon, and is currently monitored by the medical services, the africa.cgtn website quoted Chadian government as announcing.

Before reporting the first case in the Central African country, the Chadian government had shut down the country’s international airports since Wednesday as a measure to stem the spread of the pandemic.

The new coronavirus known as COVID-19 emerged in Wuhan, China last December, and has spread to at least 160 countries and territories. The World Health Organization declared the outbreak a pandemic.

Out of more than 236,000 confirmed cases, the death toll now exceeds 9,700, and over 84,500 have recovered, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University in the U.S.

Despite the rising number of cases, most who become infected suffer only mild symptoms and recover.