Vatican City, Mar 31, 2020 / 09:28 am
Cardinal Philippe Ouédraogo of Burkina Faso has tested positive for the coronavirus, his archdiocese announced Tuesday. He is the second cardinal known to have tested positive for the virus, which is now a global pandemic.
Ouédraogo, 75, has been admitted to a medical clinic in Burkina Faso's capital Ouagadougou. He is "in good condition and his close collaborators are reported to be self-isolating," a spokesman for Burkina Faso's bishops' conference, Fr. Paul Dah, told ACI Africa on March 31.
The cardinal is president of the African continental bishops' conference, the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM). He was elected to the post in July 2019. He has been Archbishop of Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso for ten years, and was made a cardinal by Pope Francis in 2014.
Ouédraogo is the second bishop from Burkina Faso known to have contracted COVID-19, as countries across Africa implement lockdowns and restrictions to slow the spread of the virus across the continent.