COVID-19 pandemic in Lesotho
| COVID-19 pandemic in Lesotho | |
|---|---|
| Disease | COVID-19 |
| Virus strain | SARS-CoV-2 |
| Location | Lesotho |
| First outbreak | Wuhan, Hubei, China 30°35′14″N 114°17′17″E / 30.58722°N 114.28806°E |
| Arrival date | 13 May 2020 (5 years, 2 months, 3 weeks and 3 days) |
| Confirmed cases | 36,140[1] |
| Recovered | 34,067[2] |
Deaths | 709[1] |
| Government website | |
| National COVID-18 Secretariat | |
The COVID-19 pandemic in Lesotho is part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The virus was confirmed to have reached Lesotho on 13 May 2020.[3]
Prior to this, Lesotho was the last country in Africa to have no reported cases of COVID-19 during the global pandemic.[4][5]
The country did not have the ability to test for the virus,[6] and so, in order to prevent the spread of the virus the government closed its border with South Africa.[7] On 18 March, the government declared a national emergency despite having no confirmed cases, and closed schools until 17 April, but allowed school meals to continue. Arriving travellers were to be quarantined for 14 days upon arrival.[6] Prime Minister Thomas Thabane announced a three-week lock down from midnight 29 March.[8] Lesotho began sending its samples to South Africa's National Institute for Communicable Diseases for testing.[9]
Recorded cases started to increase rapidly in 2021, with revelations that the government had released COVID-19-positive people from quarantine early, as well as cases attributed to workers travelling home from South Africa. On 8 January, South African border authorities estimated that more than 100 Lesotho arrivals a day were testing positive.[10]
- ^ a b Mathieu, Edouard; Ritchie, Hannah; Rodés-Guirao, Lucas; Appel, Cameron; Giattino, Charlie; Hasell, Joe; Macdonald, Bobbie; Dattani, Saloni; Beltekian, Diana; Ortiz-Ospina, Esteban; Roser, Max (2020–2024). "Coronavirus Pandemic (COVID-19)". Our World in Data. Retrieved 6 August 2025.
- ^ "Lesotho COVID - Coronavirus Statistics - Worldometer". Retrieved 2 February 2023.
- ^ "LESOTHO RECORDS FIRST COVID-19 CASE". Eyewitness News. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
- ^ Silence Charumbira in Maseru. "Lesotho records first coronavirus case a week after lifting lockdown | World news". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
- ^ "Coronavirus: All countries in Africa now have confirmed coronavirus after Lesotho is last with infection | World News". Sky News. 22 March 2019. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
- ^ a b Ngatane, Nthakoana. "Lesotho declares national emergency over COVID-19 outbreak". ewn.co.za. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
- ^ "Covid-19: Lesotho seals borders amid infection fears while SA tourism suffers". IOL. 13 March 2020. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
- ^ "Covid-19: Lesotho seals borders amid infection fears while SA tourism suffers". Sowetan Live. 26 March 2020. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
- ^ "COVID-19 EXCLUSIVE: Lesotho's Majoro pleads with Basotho not to return home". Eyewitness News. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
- ^ Maseru, Silence Charumbira in (8 January 2021). "'We can't cope': Lesotho faces Covid-19 disaster after quarantine failures". the Guardian. Retrieved 8 January 2021.