Italian man becomes Nigeria's first case of coronavirus

PanARMENIAN.Net - An Italian man who arrived in Nigeria three days ago has become the African country’s first case of coronavirus, the health minister said on Friday, February 28, as infections spread rapidly worldwide, according to Reuters.

The Health Ministry said on Twitter that the case was in the state of Lagos, home to the southwestern commercial capital of the same name. Lagos is the biggest city in Africa’s most populous country, with a population of about 20 million.

"The case...is the first case to be reported in Nigeria since the beginning of the outbreak in China in January," the health ministry said bit.ly/2HZQrO0 in its post, adding that the infection was confirmed on Thursday.

The health minister Osagie Ehanire, in a statement, said the case was an Italian citizen who works in Nigeria and returned from Milan, Italy to Lagos Feb. 25.

His infection was confirmed by the Virology Laboratory of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, part of the Laboratory Network of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control.

“The patient is clinically stable, with no serious symptoms,” said the minister, adding that he was being treated at a hospital in the Lagos district of Yaba.

The virus has so far caused nearly 80,000 infections and almost 2,800 deaths, according official Chinese figures. It has spread to another 46 countries, where about 3,700 cases and 57 deaths have been reported, according to the WHO.