Senegal reports 15 new COVID-19 cases, total nearing 200

   DAKAR, April 1  -- The Senegalese ministry of health on Wednesday reported 15 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the country's total confirmed cases to 190.
   The 15 were one imported case and 14 close contacts of earlier confirmed cases, Ministry of Health and Social Action spokesperson Alyose Waly Diouf told a daily briefing on the outbreak.
   One of the patients in critical condition, Pape Diouf, former president of French football club Olympique de Marseille, died Tuesday night, becoming the first death related to COVID-19 in Senegal.
   Among Senegal's 190 confirmed cases, 75 are imported ones; 45 patients have been declared cured by local health authorities.
   On March 23, President Macky Sall declared a state of emergency across Senegal, imposing a dusk-to-dawn curfew.
   Sall also banned public or private meetings of any kind, and ordered temporary closure of public places and meeting places.
   Senegal has suspended all international passenger flights till April 17.  Xinhua