Audio By Carbonatix
An Italian man who has been confirmed to be Nigeria's first coronavirus case after arriving from Milan was in the country for almost two full days before being isolated, travelling through Lagos and visiting another state.
The case has prompted a scramble by authorities in Africa's most populous country who are now trying to trace everyone who arrived on the same flight as the patient and identify the places he visited before going to the hospital.
"We have started working to identify all the contacts of the person since he entered Nigeria and even those who were with him on the aircraft," Health Minister Osagie Ehanire told reporters on Friday in Nigeria's capital, Abuja.
The Italian, whose country is the worst-hit in Europe by the coronavirus outbreak, arrived on February 24 on a Turkish Airlines flight that had a connection in Istanbul, Akin Abayomi, Lagos state commissioner for health, told reporters.
After spending the night in a hotel near the airport, he arrived in the neighbouring state of Ogun on February 25 at his place of work.
He stayed there until he developed a fever and body aches on the afternoon of February 26, Abayomi said.
Health practitioners with his company then contacted biosecurity authorities, who transferred him to a containment facility in Yaba, Lagos state.
"It was very astute of the medical practitioners in that facility to keep him overnight in an isolated environment," Abayomi said.
Ehanire said the infection was confirmed on February 27 by the Virology Laboratory of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, part of the Laboratory Network of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, and that the man is now quarantined but doing well.
As well as being the first in Nigeria, the patient is the first confirmed coronavirus case in sub-Saharan Africa.
Turkish Airlines did not immediately comment on the case. There are no confirmed cases in Turkey.
The World Health Organization has said it already has experts on the ground in Nigeria, which it identifies as one of 13 "high priority" countries in Africa.
In a sign of mounting concerns in Kenya, the country temporarily suspended flights from China on Friday. Kenya has no confirmed cases of the virus.
DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
Latest Stories
-
President Mahama elected AU First Vice Chair as Burundi takes over leadership
28 minutes -
Police work to restore calm and clear road after fatal tanker crash on Suhum–Nsawam Highway
49 minutes -
Four burnt, several injured in Nsawam-Accra tanker explosion
2 hours -
Police arrest suspect in murder of officer at Zebilla
2 hours -
SUSEC–Abesim and Adomako–Watchman roads set for upgrade in Sunyani
3 hours -
CDD-Ghana calls for national debate on campaign financing
3 hours -
INTERPOL’s decision on Ofori-Atta: What it means for his U.S. bond hearing and the legal road ahead
3 hours -
Parties can use filing fees to cover delegates’ costs, end vote-buying – Barker-Vormawor
3 hours -
Boxing in Bukom: Five months without the bell
4 hours -
Political parties can end vote-buying by disqualifying offenders – Barker-Vormawor
4 hours -
Ministry of Gender investigates alleged sharing of intimate videos by foreign national
4 hours -
Cocoa must be treated as business, not politics- Nana Aduna II
5 hours -
Barker-Vormawor urges scrutiny of COCOBOD reforms, warns of continued debt burden
5 hours -
Prince Adu-Owusu: Beyond flowers and grand gestures — How do you want to be loved?
5 hours -
Multiple vehicles burnt as fuel tanker explodes on Nsawam-Accra highway
5 hours
