Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi on Thursday began a 14-day self-isolation after an official working closely with him tested positive for COVID-19.

The development was announced in a statement issued by Andrew Sesinyi, the government communications’ permanent secretary in a statement. The statement reads in part:

The office of the President regrets to inform that due to the discovery of a positive COVID-19 test result last night on one of the officials closely serving His Excellency, President Mokgweetsi Masisi, the COVID-19 precautionary protocols have been activated resulting in the immediate self-quarantine.

This is the fourth time Masisi is quarantining since the registration of the first confirmed case of the deadly pandemic in the southern African country on March 30, 2020.

Some of Masisi’s inner circle of officials have also entered into self-isolation, as a precautionary measure to curb the spread and transmission of the disease caused by the highly virulent coronavirus.

Botswana has so far recorded 227 coronavirus cases including one death.

The coronavirus pandemic emerged in China’s Hubei province in December last year and has since spread rapidly across the world and scientists are still working towards finding the cure to weather the storm.

-xinhua