Italian to be discharged soon Govt following up contacts Nigeria has one positive case out of 21 Two Chinese barred from Kaduna-Abuja train Nigeria has only one confirmed case of coronavirus as at yesterday, as the three suspects quarantined in Lagos have tested negative to the disease, Lagos Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, said yesterday. 

One of the suspects quarantined was a Nigerian who travelled to France eight days ago and arrived the country four days ago. He developed headache and respiratory problems which led to his isolation. Two other travelers from England and China were also quarantined after they developed certain symptoms. According to Abayomi, their samples were collected for tests to ascertain if they have been affected by Coronavirus. However, the commissioner tweeted that the three suspects had tested negative and discharged after they were certified free of the virus. 

Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation, African region has said Cameroon has announced the country’s first confirmed case of COVID-19. The patient is a 58-year-old French citizen who arrived in Yaoundé on February 24. The patient is now in isolation at the Central Hospital of Yaoundé for appropriate care.” Egypt has detected 12 fresh positive cases. The Vatican, Serbia, Slovakia, Peru and Togo have reported their first cases. The Italian who became the first person to test positive to Coronavirus in Nigeria has fully recovered and will soon be discharged from the isolation centre, Ogun State Governor Prince Dapo Abiodun, said yesterday. 

The governor disclosed this when the management team of Lafarge PLC, led by its Country Chief Executive Officer, Khaleed El Dokani, visited him in his office in Abeokuta. His Chief Press Secretary, Kunle Somorin, quoted him in a statement: “He (the patient) is in good condition and will be discharged soon.” The governor described the virus as a serious threat to the status of Ogun as the nation’s industrial hub. He vowed that the government would not lower its guard towards curtailing spread of the virus. “For us, the virus is a serious one and an issue in the front burner. We will not lower our guard, particularly due to the fact that we have a large number of industries and expatriates here. 

We are enjoying a lot of support from the World Health Organization and the National Centre for Disease Control. We are going ahead to prepare for the worst and hope for the best”, he said. He applauded the company for its prompt response by quarantining the first index case and the first set of contacts, urging the company to sustain the level of attention given to the issue. He, however, lamented the deplorable condition of some roads due to use of heavy duty trucks owned by major companies, urging the company to find ways of collaborating with the state government to maintain the roads. 

The Italian flew into Lagos from Milan, a city badly hit by the coronavirus outbreak on February 25. A consultant to Lafarge Africa PLC, he had visited Lafarge Cement Factory in Ewekoro, Ogun State, but developed a fever and was treated at a clinic within the factory. Ogun State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Tomi Coker, had told newsmen that he was stable with no serious symptoms and was being treated at a hospital in the city, but was later transferred to Lagos. 

The patient was screened when he arrived at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos on Tuesday and did not show any symptom of the virus, according to Nigerian health authorities. They later obtained the passenger manifest from the airline and started tracking people who had contact with him, according to Health Minister, Osagie Ehanire. At least 60 doctors were deployed to the Murtala Mohammed Airport in Lagos to support screening effort. Last week, Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Akin Abayomi, told journalists that government had moved the Italian to a new facility to continue his treatment. He said the patient’s condition had improved and he would be continuously monitored. 

“The patient is now comfortable and his condition has improved, his condition has improved, he hasn’t developed any new symptoms, but he still got fever,” the commissioner said last week, adding that after being confirmed to be free of the virus, he would be released. Since the confirmation of the index case, the government has been trying to trace everyone who shared a flight with him and who he had physical contact with in Lagos and Ogun, leading to the isolation of several people in Ogun. 

The Lagos State government has isolated more people over suspicion of being infected, including one from France, one from England and one from China. “Their samples have been taken and results are being expected,” the state Commissioner for Health, Akin Abayomi, said. Coronavirus is reported to have killed more than 3,300 people around the world, mainly in mainland China, with more than 95,000 cases worldwide, and infections in more than 80 countries. 

Nigeria has one positive case out of 21–Minister 

There is only one confirmed case of coronavirus disease out of the 21 suspected cases in the country between January 7 and March 5, the Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, said yesterday.

Daily Trust