As fear spreads across the country over the first case of deadly coronavirus, Lagos State Deputy Governor, Obafemi Hamzat, has confirmed that the man is being treated in the state.
He also spoke on the man’s itinerary since the February 25 when he arrived from Italy at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja.
Speaking on ‘Your View’ on TVC on Friday morning, Hamzat said the man first went to Ewekoro in Ogun State.
The Deputy Governor assured Nigerians that the situation was under control, saying efforts were being made to track other people the Italian might have had contact with since he came.
The Ministry of Health in Lagos State had earlier confirmed its first case of the novel Coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
This was contained in a statement released Friday morning by the state Commissioner for Health, Prof Akin Abayomi, who said the government had reported it to the Federal Ministry of Health.
The statement from the government read, “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.”
According to Abayomi, the state is working with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and other preparedness groups to ensure the case is effectively managed out of circulation.
The case is the first in West Africa and the second in Africa, as Algeria had recoded the first confirmed one.
Days before, there were fears over a Chinese earlier quarantined at Reddington Hospital Ikeja, but his case ended being negative.
