Coronavirus cases have risen from three to eight on Wednesday fuelling fears of the epidemic of the disease in the country.

The Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, at a press conference in Abuja, said four of the five new cases were in Lagos State, while one was in Ekiti State.

Ehanire said this just as Lagos and Ogun state governments banned gatherings of over 50 people.

Just Yesterday, the minister of health also added that a mother and her six-week-old baby were among the new five confirmed cases.

The minister said, “The Federal Ministry of Health, unfortunately, confirms five new cases of COVID-19 in Nigeria within the last 36 hours, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in Nigeria to eight.

“Of the five new positive cases, three arrived from the United States, while two came in from the United Kingdom. We are still collating information on the travellers; but we know that two of the three from the US are Nigerians – a mother and child – making the six-week-old baby the youngest COVID-19 patient we have, and the third person is an American national, who crossed the land border and became the first COVID-19 case not arriving by air. The two cases from the UK are Nigerians.

“A detailed travel history of each person is being compiled and contacts are currently being traced, to identify persons who have recently been in touch with anyone.”

When asked to confirm the case being reported from Katsina State by the state government, the minister said that he had yet to be briefed on the case.