Skydiving-South African Wallis pushes wingsuit flying to global height
eSwatini king says had Covid-19, recovered after Taiwan sent drugs – Watch
7:44 CAT | 22 Feb 2021
Photo: Twitter / @EswatiniGovern1
- “I am grateful to the president of the Republic of China on Taiwan for sending through this medication to treat me.”
eSwatini’s King Mswati III said he had recovered from Covid-19 after Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen sent antiviral medication to help him.
The small southern African country, an absolute monarchy formerly known as Swaziland, is Taiwan’s only remaining diplomatic ally on the continent, and Taipei has provided large amounts of economic and other aid.
In a speech on Friday, the king said while the country awaited the arrival of vaccines, there was an antiviral drug that could be used to treat the illness, which he did not name.
Watch His Majesty King Mswati III deliver the royal speech marking the opening of the 3rd session of the 11th Parliament of the Kingdom of #Eswatini🇸🇿. We humbly & sincerely thank His Majesty for magnanimously recognising #TaiwanCanHelp🇹🇼 the #BeautifulKingdom combat #COVID19.🔽 pic.twitter.com/DJxcC9mv3u
— Taiwatini (@TW_Eswatini) February 21, 2021
He said he had tested positive “for a couple of days” in the first week of January, but was now negative.
“I am grateful to the president of the Republic of China on Taiwan for sending through this medication to treat me,” he said, using the island’s formal name in the speech posted on the eSwatini government’s official Twitter account.
Taiwan Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou said that upon hearing the king was infected, Tsai arranged medical assistance for him.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is gratified to hear of the eSwatini king’s successful recovery under the joint care of Taiwanese and eSwatini medical staff,” she said.
The king could have been referring to Gilead Sciences Inc’s antiviral drug remdesivir, which was conditionally approved in Europe in July for treating Covid-19 in adults and adolescents with pneumonia requiring oxygen support.
Taiwan also provisionally approved its use last year.
Using the slogan “Taiwan can help,” the government has been keen to showcase its assistance to other countries during the pandemic, donating face masks and other supplies.
China claims Taiwan as its own territory with no right to state-to-state ties. Only 14 countries now officially recognise the island’s government.
eSwatini has recorded almost 17 000 infections of the coronavirus and 644 Covid-19 deaths.
Prime Minister Ambrose Dlamini died in a South African hospital in December after testing positive for Covid-19.
Minister of Health Lizzie Nkosi’s #COVID19 update on 21 February 2021:
New cases: 25
Total cases: 16 789Active cases: 2924
New recoveries: 211
Total recoveries: 13 195 pic.twitter.com/ujCwF512dT— Eswatini Government (@EswatiniGovern1) February 21, 2021
His Majesty King Mswati III has lauded Eswatini’s frontline workers as ‘heroes’ for their role in the fight against #COVID19. His Majesty has been speaking during the official opening of the 3rd Session of the 11th Parliament of the Kingdom of Eswatini. #SpeechFromTheThrone2021 pic.twitter.com/icoSY7gaOf
— Eswatini Government (@EswatiniGovern1) February 19, 2021
Source: Reuters
Show comments
Also read
Leave a Reply
Be the First to Comment!
You must be logged in to post a comment.
You must be logged in to post a comment.