The Ministry of Health in Lagos State has confirmed its first case of the novel Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), incidentally the first in Nigeria and in West Africa since the outbreak in China in January 2020.
This was contained in a statement released Friday morning by the state Commissioner for Health, Prof Akin Abayomi.
It is the second confirmed case in Africa following one recently recorded in Algeria in North Africa.
Nigeria was one of four countries which declared their first cases of the coronavirus overnight, including New Zealand.
The statement from the government read, “The case is an Italian citizen who entered Nigeria on the 25th of February from Milan, Italy for a brief business visit.
“He fell ill on the 26th February and was transferred to Lagos State Biosecurity Facilities for isolation and testing. COVID-19 infection was confirmed by the Virology Laboratory of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, part of the Laboratory Network of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control.
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“The patient is clinically stable, with no serious symptoms, and is being managed at the Infectious Disease Hospital in Yaba, Lagos.”
The state government said it is working with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and other preparedness groups to ensure the case is effectively managed out of circulation.
The Senate had yesterday berated the Federal Government for not doing enough to screen passengers coming into the country from the nation’s airports and seaports.
Nigeria’s first case of new coronavirus is stirring memories of the fears sparked six years ago when West Africa’s Ebola epidemic hit the chaotic megacity of 20 million.
The low number of cases so far across Africa, which has close economic ties with China, the epicentre of the deadly outbreak, has puzzled health specialists.
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country with some 190 million people, is viewed as one of the world’s most vulnerable to the spread of the virus given its fragile health system and high population density.
