Nigeria Confirms First Coronavirus Case In Lagos

The Ministry of Health in Lagos State has confirmed its first case of Coronavirus (COVID-19).
The state says it has also reported the case to the Federal Ministry of Health.

According to Professor Akin Abayomi, the Lagos State Commissioner for Health, the case which was confirmed on Thursday, February 27, 2020, is an Italian citizen who entered Nigeria on February 25, 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.

“The patient is clinically stable, with no serious symptoms, and is being managed at the Infectious Disease Hospital in Yaba, Lagos.” Abayomi said.

He noted that they were working to identify all the contacts of the patient since he arrived in Nigeria.

The commissioner also assured Lagosians and Nigerians of the state’s preparedness to handle the case.

He stated, “The Government of Lagos State under the Governor as the COVID-19 Incident Commander, through the Lagos State Ministry of Health, has been strengthening measures to ensure that any outbreak in Lagos is controlled and contained quickly in collaboration with the multi-sectoral Coronavirus Preparedness Group, led by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).

“We have immediately activated the State Emergency Operations Centre to respond to this case and implement firm control measures.

“I wish to assure all Lagosians and Nigerians that we have been strengthening our preparedness since the first confirmation of cases in China. We will use all the resources made available by the State and the Federal Government to respond to this case.

The Italian’s case is the first to be reported in Nigeria since the outbreak in China in January 2020.

Prior to the case in Nigeria, just two cases had surfaced across all of Africa — in Egypt and in Algeria.