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King of Eswatini said on Friday that he recovered from Covid-19 in January after taking an antiviral drug sent by Taiwan, with which the kingdom maintains diplomatic relations.
The tiny southern African country is the only state on the continent that still resists Chinese pressure to cut ties with Taiwan, which Beijing sees as a renegade province.
King Mswati III, Africa’s last absolute monarch, on Friday thanked the Taiwanese president for sending the drug, which he did not name, and said the government would procure the drug “immediately” for the rest of the country.
Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland, is struggling to stem a second wave of coronavirus infection and has yet to receive his first vaccines.
Britain sent an emergency team of doctors and specialists last month to help bolster the country’s health services.
“While waiting for the arrival of these vaccines, I would like to share that there is a treatment through the use of an antiviral drug,” Mswati III said during a speech in parliament.
“We discovered this drug after testing Covid-19 positive for a few days in the first week of January 2021,” he explained.
“I am grateful to the President of the Republic of China in Taiwan for sending this medicine.”
The 52-year-old king had not previously reported his coronavirus infection.
He said the drug, given by infusion, allowed him to recover before he even had time to announce his hospitalization.
“He has remarkable success,” he boasted. “Emaswati (the people of Eswatini) should seek this drug as soon as it is found to be positive.”
Mswati III also referred to the purchase of vaccines, saying the government was instructed to acquire vaccines “as soon as possible”.
“However, it can take some time because they are not readily available,” he warned.
Eswatini has recorded more than 16,700 coronavirus cases and at least 640 deaths for a population of around 1.2 million.
Prime Minister Ambrose Dlamini died in December after four weeks of treatment for Covid-19 in neighboring South Africa.
China regards Taiwan as a separatist province and does not allow countries to have diplomatic relations with itself and with the island.
Burkina Faso was the last African country to cross to China in May 2018, leaving Eswatini alone in Africa to have diplomatic relations with Taipei.
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