December 03, (THEWILL) – Two members of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s security team have reportedly tested positive for COVID-19, in Nigeria.
South Africa’s President, Ramaphosa had landed in Nigeria on Tuesday night for the first leg of his West African tour, amid fears of an Omicron variant.
According to a report by News24.com, the affected security members were evacuated out of Abuja on Thursday in a South African Air Force Falcon 50 VIP jet,
Thandi Modise, the Minister of Defence, who is travelling with Ramaphosa, confirmed to journalist Carien du Plessis in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, that the members had tested positive, adding that they were in the process of being evacuated.
Asked why they were not being treated in Nigeria, which constituted the first leg of Ramaphosa’s official visit to west Africa, Modise said the decision was taken as a matter of convenience.
Nigeria was Ramaphosa’s first stop on his West African tour. The trip will take him to Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Senegal and conclude on 7 December.
The trip is meant to reinforce South Africa’s bilateral relations with Nigeria and other West African countries.
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