The Djibouti Ministry of Health (MoH) on Wednesday disclosed it has confirmed its first case of COVID-19.

The ministry said a Spanish national who arrived in the Horn of Africa nation on Saturday tested positive for COVID-19.

"The patient was a member of the Spanish Special Forces who arrived at Djibouti Ambuli Airport on March 14."

"With the consent of the French military base in Djibouti, all soldiers on the aircraft were immediately isolated in the French military base," said the MoH statement.

Djibouti, which lies on a key location connecting the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, hosts a number of foreign military bases and is the main sea outlet for landlocked Ethiopia.