What you need to know about the first case of Coronavirus in Nigeria
Nigeria has finally taken a hit as the Federal Ministry of Health confirms the first case of Coronavirus in Lagos on February 27, 2020. Since the outbreak began in Wuhan China in December 2019, Nigerians have been hoping it does not spread to the country. After many debunked false alarms, the Coronavirus is now present in the country.
This makes Nigeria the first country in Subsaharan Africa, the third on the continent (after Egypt and Algeria) and the 55th in the world to have a confirmed case of coronavirus.
Similar to the way that Ebola was introduced into the country in 2014 by Patrick Sawyer, a Liberian-American lawyer who left Liberia in search of better healthcare in Lagos, the Federal Ministry of Health revealed that the first case of Coronavirus was brought in by an Italian national who works in Nigeria.
“The case is an Italian citizen who works in Nigeria and returned from Milan, Italy to Lagos, Nigeria on the 25th of February 2020. He 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 symptom, and is being managed at the Infectious Disease Hospital in Yaba,” the statement reads.
Nigerians have been holding their breath like all other African countries that are susceptible to such outbreaks, knowing that it was a matter of time before it reaches the country. The government had been working with healthcare professionals to help cushion the effect of coronavirus, should it eventually get here.
The unpreparedness that almost caused catastrophe during the Ebola outbreak of 2014 informed the decision of the government to act ahead of time. Nigeria was spared from an Ebola onslaught due to the heroics of Dr. Ameyo Adadevo and others who lost their lives in the process.
Consequently, a more proactive procedure was put in place by the Director of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Chikwe Ihekweazu who created Laboratory Networks for testing and containing such viral diseases. With the systems in place, it was easier to diagnose and quarantine the index case of coronavirus in Nigeria. And if the host is properly contained with no one else getting infected or introducing the disease to Nigeria before it is totally eliminated globally, Nigeria might be free from the virus in no time.
The Federal Ministry of Health advises Nigerians to “take care of their health and maintain hand and respiratory hygiene to protect themselves and others from the disease”. The World Health Organization advises that close contact with anyone showing symptoms of respiratory illness, such as coughing and sneezing should be avoided.
COVID-19, as the illness is officially known, has been spreading across the globe since the beginning of the year 2020. So far, there have been more than 83,000 infected persons globally. Over 2,800 people have died from the disease (less than 3 percent) while more than 36,500 persons have fully recovered.
