Nigeria has recorded its first case of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), since it broke out in China in January 2020.
Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, confirmed this in a statement on Friday morning.
It is the second confirmed case in Africa following one recently recorded in Algeria.
Similar to the case confirmed in Algeria, the victim, an Italian, arrived in Nigeria on Tuesday from Milan on a business trip through the Murtala Muhammad International Airport in Lagos.
Milan, a city in northern Italy, is the worst hit location in Europe with the virus.
Officials are managing the unnamed victim at the Infectious Disease Hospital in Yaba, Lagos.
The deadly virus has infected over 80,000 globally with more than 3,000 deaths.
Lagos State Government said it has reported it to the Federal Ministry of Health.
“The case is an Italian citizen who entered Nigeria on the 25th of February from Milan, Italy for a brief business visit,” the statement read.
“He fell ill on the 26th February and was transferred to Lagos State Biosecurity Facilities for isolation and testing. COVID-19 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, and is being managed at the Infectious Disease Hospital in Yaba, Lagos.”
The state government said it is working with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and others to ensure the case is effectively managed out of circulation.
