No suspected case of coronavirus in Nigeria – Minister

The Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, said on Friday Nigeria has not recorded any suspected case of coronavirus.

Ehanire stated this during a ministerial briefing in Abuja.

According to him, Nigeria had developed enough capacity to detect and isolate any coronavirus case, especially at international entry points to the country.

He said the Africa Centre for Disease Control (ACDC), World Health Organisation (WHO), and other partners have provided scientific and technical support to Nigeria to strengthen its preparedness for the coronavirus.

Ehanire noted that the support was geared towards ensuring that Nigeria was better prepared to respond, in the event of an outbreak of the coronavirus.

The minister said: “NCDC, Port Health Services and State Epidemiologists were aware of the process for identification and confirmation.

“We‘ll review these criteria as additional information on CoV2019 becomes available.”

He said the NCDC has continued to make advisories available to Nigerians on the novel coronavirus and how to protect themselves and had also published Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) to keep Nigerians informed.

He added: “Since the emergence of the coronavirus, we have been working everyday to learn as quickly as possible about this new virus.

“Ongoing research on its transmissibility and virulence will determine our response across Nigeria.”

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He advised Nigerians that if they experience symptoms of coronavirus like respiratory illness, restlessness or cough within 14 days of travel to China they should contact NCDC immediately on its toll-free number on – 0800-970000-10

He added that a strange illness recently discovered in Benue had been laboratory tested and showed no symptoms of Ebola, Lassa fever or coronavirus.

The minister said the NCDC had activated an Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) to coordinate response activities in conjunction with the Federal Medical Centre in Makurdi to ascertain the nature of the illness.

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