By AAP 16 Mar 2020 11:58

Kenyan authorities have raided a shop that was alleged to be selling fake coronavirus testing kits, as the World Health Organisation confirmed there were at least 327 cases on the African continent.

Police detained staff and locked the facility, witnesses told Reuters journalists at the scene, after the shop had been advertising testing kits online.

In West Africa, the small and impoverished nation of Liberia announced its first case on Monday, meaning that 27 African nations are now treating patients with coronavirus.

The disease has killed 6509 people and infected almost 170,000 people worldwide, according to a Reuters tally.

Ethiopia, Africa's second-largest nation, joined the growing list of countries that closed schools for two weeks, suspended all large gatherings and cancelled all sports events, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's office said.

Free rides will be available on government buses to curb overcrowding in the public transport system, a statement said.

"The Prime Minister calls upon all to maintain calm and equip themselves with accurate information from the Ministry of Health," Abiy's office said.