The Ivory Coast has confirmed its first case of the coronavirus in a 45-year-old citizen who had recently returned from Italy, the country's health ministry said Wednesday.

The Ivory Coast, francophone West Africa's largest economy, is the eighth country in sub-Saharan Africa to report a confirmed case after Nigeria, Senegal, Cameroon, Togo, South Africa, Burkina Faso and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

South Africa announced six new cases of the virus Wednesday, bringing its total to 13, the most in sub-Saharan Africa. North African countries have also recorded nearly 100 cases.

The patient in the Ivory Coast is said to be in stable condition in a hospital in the commercial capital Abidjan, the health ministry said in a statement.

Sub-Saharan Africa did not confirm its first case of coronavirus until Feb. 28 in Nigeria, but experts warn that rising caseloads could test already fragile health systems.