Nigeria has just confirmed four new cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) disease, according to the Lagos State Ministry of Health.
This brings to 11 the total number of coronavirus cases in Nigeria.
On Friday, March 13, the Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire announced that the second case, who made contact with the index patient, tested negative afterwards (recovered from the virus) and was allowed to go home. Pulse is no longer adding this individual to the total tally of cases in Nigeria.
The new four
Announcing the four new cases, Commissioner for Health in Lagos, Akin Abayomi, said 19 tests were performed on suspected cases and contacts of the five cases announced on Wednesday, out of which four turned positive.
The first positive test is that of a Nigerian female who returned from France via a Turkish airline (TK 1830) flight on March 14.
Another confirmed case is a Nigerian male in his 50s who has never left the country. He tested positive and had since been admitted.
The third case is a Nigerian male who arrived the country on March 13, from Frankfurt, Germany on Lufthansa flight LH 568.
The fourth case is a contact of the third case of a Nigerian female who arrived from the UK.
“What we have is a combination of imported cases and local transmission,” Abayomi said.
The Lagos Health ministry is currently tracking over 1,300 people in relation to COVID-19, Abayomi added.
A timeline of Nigeria's coronavirus cases
Nigeria confirmed its first coronavirus case on February 27, 2020. The index patient is an Italian who is still in isolation at the Infectious Disease Hospital in Yaba, Lagos.
On March 9, Nigeria confirmed its second case of the virus.
On March 17, a third case was confirmed.
On March 18, five new cases were confirmed.
There are now over 219,763 infected cases, 8,978 deaths and 85,751 recoveries from the pandemic across the world.
The virus has negatively impacted the world’s economies and there are fears that its spread could lead to prolonged economic misery across the planet.