eSwatini king says he recovered from coronavirus after taking drug sent by Taiwan

King Mswati III said the antiviral medication had allowed him to recover before he even had time to announce his hospitalisation

The 52-year-old monarch had not previously reported his infection

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King Mswati III with Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen in Mbabane, eSwatini. File photo: EPA

Published: 11:26pm, 19 Feb 2021Updated: 12:45am, 20 Feb 2021

The king of eSwatini on Friday said he had 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 still resisting Chinese pressure to cut ties with Taiwan, which Beijing regards as a renegade province.

King Mswati III, Africa’s last absolute monarch, on Friday thanked the Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen for sending the medication, which he did not name, and said the government would “immediately” procure it for the rest of the country.

eSwatini, formerly known as Swaziland, has been struggling to stem a second coronavirus infection wave and is yet to receive its first vaccines.

Britain sent an emergency team of doctors and specialists last month to help strengthen the country’s health services.

“While we await the arrival of these vaccines, I wish to share that there is treatment through the use of an antiviral drug,” Mswati III said during an address to parliament.

“We discovered this medicine after I tested Covid-19 positive for a couple of days on the first week of January 2021,” he explained.