A prominent 30-year-old television journalist has died in Zimbabwe after contracting the new infection with COVID-19, the first person who died from the virus in the world.
Zororo Makamba was one of the two people who tested positive for coronavirus on Saturday.
He was admitted to hospital in the capital Harare after exhibiting flu-like symptoms last Thursday, the health ministry said in a statement.
Makamba contracted COVID-19 while he was in New York and was in isolation at Wilkins hospital, Harare's only isolation facility.
Zimbabwe's health workers wear protective suits during a training exercise.
A childhood friend of Makamba's told CNN he was suffering from a rare condition known as Myasthenia gravis, a chronic, neuromuscular illness, and had undergone surgery to remove a tumor from his chest last year.
TV personality and executive producer, Vimbai Muthinhiri said Makamba was like a brother to her and their families were close growing up.
"Zororo embodied what comes to mind when we talk about Africa's next generation being our hope," Muthinhiri said.
"He was Zo, our little brother and ever happy friend who always saw a silver lining in every situation. It's so difficult to accept that someone who was so full of life will no longer call to check in again," she added.
Zimbabwe's information minister, Monica Mutsvangwa, said she received the news with "extreme sadness and a deep sense of shock."
Makamba had traveled to New York on February 29 and returned to his home in Harare on March 9.
"He began to exhibit mild flu-like symptoms a few days later on March 12. He then contacted his doctor a week later and he was advised to self-isolate," the Health Minister Obadiah Moyo said in the statement.
On arrival at the hospital, Makamba developed severe respiratory distress and was kept in isolation under supervision from health practitioners.
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