Moses Ofodeme
Four new cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in Nigeria with three in Lagos State and one new case recorded in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
This brought confirmed cases of #COVID19 in Nigeria to 40 out of which 2 have been discharged with 1 death.
According to the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), two of these cases are returning travellers
A breakdown of cases by states as at 11:00 pm on the 23rd of March, 2020, showed that Lagos had 28, Abuja 7, Ogun 2, Ekiti 1, Oyo 1 and Edo 1.
Giving an update on COVID-19 cases yesterday, the Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, said the Federal Government would publish names of people who refused to go into self-isolation after returning to Nigeria from countries with high burden of coronavirus.
He said Nigeria could be heading the way of China and Italy, which had recorded high number of coronavirus cases and deaths.
Nigeria recorded the first casualty of COVID-19 on Monday
In a statement by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) “the case was a 67-year-old male who returned home following medical treatment in UK.
The victim was the former Managing Director of the Pipeline and Product Marketing Company (PPMC), Suleiman Achimugu, who died on Monday
“He had underlying medical conditions- multiple myeloma & diabetes & was undergoing chemotherapy”, the NCDC explained.
The health minister said some people who had been infected were hiding.
Nigeria recorded its first coronavirus case on February 27 when an Italian was diagnosed with the disease, but the Federal Government then rejected advice that it should ban flights from high-risk countries.
The government on last Thursday banned flights from 13 high-risk countries when the cases increased to 18.