Mauritania has declared its first fatality from corona virus.

The victim is a 48-year-old French-Mauritanian dual national who tested positive for the virus after she died.

The woman had been quarantined alongside 16 other French nationals who landed in the West African state in mid-March, in one of the last flights to reach Mauritania before it banned international arrivals.

An official in charge of the isolation centre, N’DIAYE MAMADOU said the woman’s case was unusual because she did not initially present symptoms.