Coronavirus in Nigeria has seen the Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Chikwe Ihekweazu, being quarantined for 14 days.
NewsOne Nigeria reports that Nigeria’s minister of health, Osagie Ehanire, made this known on Tuesday, March 3 when he updated the Nigerian Senate on the activities of his ministry to curb the spread of coronavirus in the country.
The minister of health told principal officers of the senate that the DG of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control was quarantined because he just returned from China where the deadly disease broke.
This online news platform understands that Ehanire said it is the standard practice for those who just returned from China, where the disease broke out in December, to be quarantined.
An NCDC source told TheCable that Ihekweazu went for a high-level delegation meeting of the World Health Organisation in China. The source, who said the NCDC DG is under self-quarantine at his residence, refused to disclose the location.
NewsOne Nigeria reports that the development is coming after the Federal Ministry of Health on Friday morning, February 28, confirmed the first case of the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial city.
Nigeria’s minister of health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, confirmed the case in a statement issued in the early hours of Friday, February 28, 2020, saying that the case involves an Italian citizen who works in Nigeria and just returned from Milan, Italy on the 25th of February 2020.
This online news platform understands that the statement said the Italian was confirmed to be positive by the Virology Laboratory of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, part of the Laboratory Network of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).
The Ministry of Health in Lagos State confirmed its first case of COVID-19 and reported it to the Federal Ministry of Health. The ministry, however, noted that the patient is clinically stable, with no serious symptoms, and is being managed at the Infectious Disease Hospital in Yaba, Lagos.
The Commissioner for Health in Lagos, Prof Akin Abayomi broke the news in a statement released early on Friday, saying: “The case, which was confirmed on the 27th of February 2020, is the first case to be reported in Nigeria since the outbreak in China in January 2020.”
“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. The patient is clinically stable, with no serious symptoms, and is being managed at the Infectious Disease Hospital in Yaba, Lagos.
“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.
“We are working to identify all the contacts of the patient since he arrived in Nigeria. Please, be reminded that most people who become infected may experience only a mild illness and recover easily, but it can be more severe in others, particularly the elderly and persons with other underlying chronic illnesses. All Lagosians should take care of their health and maintain hand and respiratory hygiene to protect themselves and others, including their own families,” the statement added.