Nigerians are currently gripped with fear after an official announcement was made in the early hours of Friday by the Lagos State Ministry of Health that it has confirmed the first case of coronavirus (COVID-19).

The new coronavirus (2019-nCoV) was recently detected in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China and is causing an outbreak of respiratory illness. Since it’s outbreak, it has spread to many other countries including Europe and USA.

The Corovirus pandemic has claimed the lives of many people and before now, there have been fears that Nigeria may not be able to handle the situation due to lack of medical facilities.

Just barely 24 hours, after a Chinese man was tested negative at Reddington hospital in Lagos, the state Commissioner for Health,  Prof. Akin Abayomi, released a statement around 1.40am on Friday, confirming the ministry had informed the Federal Ministry of Health about the situation.

“The case, which was confirmed on the 27th of February 2020, is the first case to be reported in Nigeria since the outbreak in China in January 2020.

“The case is an Italian citizen who entered Nigeria on the 25th of February from Milan, Italy, for a brief business visit.

“He fell ill on the 26th February and was transfered 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 statement read partly.