A cement manufacturer, Lafarge Africa Plc, has said all those who had direct contact with the Italian, who is the first case of coronavirus in Nigeria, have been identified.
Naija News reports that the Federal Ministry of Health on Friday morning confirmed the first case of the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial city.
The minister of health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, confirmed the case in a statement issued in the early hours of Friday, February 28, 2020, saying that the case involves an Italian citizen who works in Nigeria and just returned from Milan, Italy on the 25th of February 2020.
This online news platform understands that the statement said the Italian was confirmed to be positive by the Virology Laboratory of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, part of the Laboratory Network of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).
Naija News reports that the Ministry of Health in Lagos State confirmed its first case of COVID-19 and reported it to the Federal Ministry of Health. The ministry, however, noted that the patient is clinically stable, with no serious symptoms, and is being managed at the Infectious Disease Hospital in Yaba, Lagos.
It was gathered that Italian who arrived in Nigeria aboard Turkish airline on Monday, visited Lafarge in Ogun State on Tuesday.
In a statement on Friday, Folashade Ambrose-Medebem, a spokesperson of the company, disclosed that those in contact with the Italian have been quarantined.
She said: “The Lagos State Government has reported a first case of n-COVID19 (Coronavirus) in Nigeria. The individual concerned works for a vendor that provides services to Lafarge Africa Plc in Ogun State.
“As a business, we have immediately identified the persons who had direct contact with the concerned individual. We have equally initiated isolation, quarantine and disinfection protocol.
“We thank the exemplary leadership of the federal ministry of health, Ogun and Lagos State Governments for swiftly providing response and testing facilities and we are working in full co-operation with all local authorities. Lafarge Africa is also working in close partnership with International SOS, our medical service provider, a leading global health company.
“Health and Safety remains a core value at Lafarge Africa and we intend to leverage this strength at this critical time.”
