Nigeria has confirmed the second case of coronavirus in the country over one week after the first case.
Osagie Ehanire, the health minister, made the disclosure during a press conference on Monday, March 9, 2020.
A total of 60 people had been quarantined in Lagos and Ogun states after an Italian businessman was diagnosed with the virus after entering the country in late February.
“On 8th March 2020, scientists confirmed the presence of coronavirus in one of the contacts. It is my duty therefore to announce a new case of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Nigeria,” the minister said.
Today, March 9th, I announced 1 (one) more case of #COVID19 in #Nigeria. To date, there are 2 (two) confirmed cases.
The new case is an Ogun State contact of the index case, one of 40 persons in isolation being closely monitored. He is clinically stable.
#COVID19Nigeria pic.twitter.com/ANJCpaT5dK— Dr. E. Osagie Ehanire MD, FWACS (@DrEOEhanire) March 9, 2020
The minister noted that the new patient, an Ogun State contact of Italian, has ‘no significant clinical symptoms’.
The patient has now been placed in isolation and under clinical follow-up and in care at Infectious Disease Hospital, Lagos.
All other contacts of the Italian in Ogun and Lagos will remain in isolation and testing will be carried out on those not yet tested, including some in other states.
Over 110,000 people have been infected with the coronavirus worldwide since the first case was detected in Wuhan, China in December 2019.
Nearly 4000 people have been killed by the virus which has spread to over 100 countries across the world. Over 66,000 infected people have also recovered from the virus.
