The federal government on Monday confirmed the second case of COVID-19 (coronavirus) in the country.
The case was not imported like the previous one, but confirmed in one of the contacts traced to an Italian earlier last month.
This was announced by the Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, at a press conference in Benin City, Edo State capital.
Mr Ehanire said the confirmed case was not imported, when compared to the previous case. This case was detected in one of the contacts traced from the index case.
“It is my duty, therefore, to announce a new case of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Nigeria,” he said.
The Honourable Minister @Fmohnigeria has announced a second confirmed case of #COVID19 in Nigeria.
This second case is a contact of the index case, in Ogun state. The new case has been in isolation and was tested as part of our strategy to test all contacts of the index case. pic.twitter.com/aTkzEy3qXo
— NCDC (@NCDCgov) March 9, 2020
The newly confirmed case is an Ogun State contact of the index case, but he has no significant clinical symptoms.
Nigeria is one of the six sub saharan African countries that have reported at least a case of Coronavirus on the continent.
Nigeria recorded its first case of Coronavirus on February 27, in an Italian businessman who had flown into the country for business.
The man had spent two days within the country and visited Lagos and Ogun state before he fell ill and was diagnosed of Covid-19.
He has since been isolated and placed under treatment.
“He presently does not have any clinical symptoms, is comfortable and in care at Infectious Disease Hospital, Lagos, he said.
According to the situation report from Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), 40 persons in Ogun and 20 in Lagos are under isolation and have remained free of any symptoms since.
However, NCDC said the new case was detected in one of the traced contacts, although the individual was asymptomatic (no significant clinical symptoms) as of the time of detection.
This brings the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Nigeria, on Monday, to two.
NCDC said, “one of the important response strategies at the containment stage has been to identify all contacts, ensure their strict isolation, and to follow up daily with checks for any symptoms of the disease.
NCDC said it took advice of recent experience from other countries and evident from newly published studies on non-symptomatic infections that samples should be taken from all contacts of the index case for testing.
“It is in this process that these two cases were detected.
NCDC said 40 persons in Ogun and 20 in Lagos are under isolation and have remained free of any symptoms since.
