The President of Mali, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita announced a nationwide night-time curfew on Wednesday to limit the spread of coronavirus.

Mali is currently on lockdown due to Coronavirus but the President said a parliamentary vote planned for this week will go ahead.

Keita while addressing the country on TV said the government will enforce a curfew between 21:00 to 05:00, from Thursday, and close land borders in response to the virus.

Freight will still be allowed into the West African state, he said, and markets will remain open.

This comes after the authorities recorded the country’s first coronavirus infections, in two nationals who had recently arrived from France. The cases were confirmed on Wednesday.