A South African Air Force Falcon 50 VIP jet was scrambled for a medical evacuation (medevac) out of Abuja, Nigeria, on Thursday after at least two members of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s security team tested positive for Covid-19.

Thandi Modise, Minister of Defence, who is travelling with Ramaphosa, confirmed to journalist Carien du Plessis in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, that the members had tested positive and were in the process of being evacuated.

Asked why they were not being treated in Nigeria, which constituted the first leg of Ramaphosa’s official visit to west Africa, Modise said the decision was taken as a matter of convenience.