There are concerns as the Federal Government disclosed that two cases of coronavirus are undergoing tests in the country.
This came after Egypt confirmed a case of the killer disease on Friday.
Giving update on the development in Abuja on Friday, the Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, explained that the agency was conducting tests to know the status of the two individuals.
He said, “We had two cases and tests are going on at the moment. As soon as they are completed, it will be announced. If a person returns to the country, say within 20 or 30 days, there is no point wasting reagents to test such a person.”
What to do in suspected cases: “For other diseases, we usually advise people to go to the hospitals to get tested, but for suspected cases of coronavirus, patients are advised to simply put a call through to us, we will come to the patient because going to the hospital can amplify the disease if it is found to be positive,” he was quoted in Punch.
Egypt case: In a statement issued on Friday, the ministry confirmed that the carrier was not Egyptian but didn’t disclose the nationality.
“The ministry has taken preventative measures and is monitoring the patient… who is stable,” said health ministry spokesman Khaled Megahed.
Egyptian authorities had notified the World Health Organization and the patient been placed in quarantined isolation in hospital.
The development made Egypt the first country in the African continent to report a confirmed case, and the second in the Middle East region, after the United Arab Emirates late last month diagnosed its first cases.
The death toll from the epidemic virus has neared 1,400 cases, almost exclusively in China where it was first identified.
Deep trade links with China and often overstretched healthcare systems have raised concerns about the capacity of African countries to respond to an outbreak.
Earlier this month, Egypt suspended all flights on its national carrier to China and insisted the flights will remain grounded until the end of the month.
Meanwhile, 301 Egyptians were evacuated from Wuhan, epicentre of the virus in China, and have remained in quarantine for 14 days.
