Nigeria records second case of COVID-19

Nigeria has recorded its second case of the Coronavirus (COVID-19), the country’s Health Ministry has said.

The second patient contracted the illness after coming into contact with an Italian citizen who had travelled to Nigeria last month.

The 44-year-old Italian man visited two states before he was diagnosed with the virus in late February. He remains in isolation in a stable condition, officials said.

Health officials have been working around the clock to trace all those who came into contact with the Italian.

Those that have been traced will remain in isolation while tests are conducted, the country’s National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) said.

There has been panic buying and hiking of prices since news of the first case in Nigeria broke. In some places, hand sanitizers are being sold for more than 10 times the normal price.

The Consumer Protection Commission announced its intent to prosecute those who are price gouging in the midst of public apprehension over the virus.

President Muhammadu Buhari has appealed for calm and health officials told CNN that Nigeria’s experience with Ebola had prepared the country for outbreaks like the coronavirus.

Health workers have been deployed at Lagos Airport to screen all arriving passengers, while some stores and banks are checking customers’ temperatures for fever and handing out sanitizers before they enter.

So far 10 African countries; Algeria, Burkina Faso, South Africa, Senegal, Tunisia, Togo, Egypt, Cameroon, Nigeria and Morocco have reported nearly 100 coronavirus cases, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Ghana’s President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo Addo, has temporarily suspended all foreign travels for public officials as part of measures to prevent an outbreak of COVID-19 in the country.

Source: GNA