Eswatini Prime Minister Ambrose Dlamini.

The prime minister of Eswatini, Africa's last absolute monarchy, has been taken to neighbouring South Africa for treatment, more than two weeks after he contracted COVID-19, the government said Tuesday.

The country's 52-year-old premier, Ambrose Dlamini, announced on 16 November that he had tested positive but that he felt well and was asymptomatic.

But on Tuesday Deputy Prime Minister Themba Masuku said Dlamini was "stable" and "responding well to treatment".

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"To guide and fast track the recovery, a decision has been taken that he be transferred to a South African hospital this afternoon," Masuku announced in a statement.

Formerly known as Swaziland, the kingdom has reported 6,419 coronavirus cases and 122 deaths among its population of 1.2 million people.