The outgoing president of Burundi has died of a sudden illness, suspected by many to be Covid-19. The cause of Pierre Nkurunziza’s death was described as a heart attack in a government statement. The 55-year-old was due to stand down in August following elections last month. It was unclear exactly when he died.
Burundi did not follow suit with other African nations in imposing a lockdown and even expelled a WHO expert team who had been working there for coronavirus research. The nation of 11 million people has reported 83 cases of Covid-19 and officials have cited divine protection for Burundi’s ostensibly low infection rate and urged citizens to go about their daily lives without fear.
The cause of Nkurunziza’s death is tied to COVID-19 infections, although the official press release said that he died of a cardiac arrest.
Following this, the UN Health Agency released statistics saying that there have been over 200,000 positive across its 54 countries. According to the WHO’s embassy in Africa, the continent has tested 201,457 positive cases.