File: Hand washing has been highly recommended by WHO as one of the most effective measures to prevent coronavirus infection.

Uganda has confirmed its first coronavirus case, the minister health there announced on Sunday.

The patient is reportedly a 36-year-old Ugandan male who arrived in Uganda from Dubai aboard an Ethiopian Airlines flight on Saturday morning.

“The ministry would like to inform the general public that Uganda has confirmed her first case of coronavirus disease COVID-19,” said Ruth Jane Aceng in a statement.

More than 1,000 cases have now been reported across Africa, according to the World Health Organisation.

Many African countries, including coronavirus zero-case South Sudan, have already closed schools and universities and barred large public gatherings.

And some have closed their borders, with Uganda planning to shut down all its borders, stating on Monday, March 23.

“Consequently, we have decided among other things, to prohibit all incoming passengers [whether] by air, land or water. All passenger planes coming from outside Uganda from landing at any of the airports in Uganda,” President Yoweri Museveni said during a public address on Saturday.

However, experts are concerned the continent will not be able to handle a surge in cases without the depth of medical facilities available in more developed economies.