Nigeria on Wednesday confirmed five new cases of coronavirus, just less than a day after announcing its third case.
The total number of confirmed cases in Nigeria so far stands at eight with two patients fully recovering.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control said “All 5 cases had a travel history to the UK/USA.
We urge Nigerians to remain calm as public health response activities are intensified across the country.
It also said in a statement that “a detailed travel history of each case is being compiled & contact tracing has begun Our National Emergency Operations Centre is supporting response in the states The Federal Government through the health ministry is conducting risk assessment to initiate other relevant measures.”
The centre also promised to “continue to provide accurate updates & take the necessary measures to protect the health of Nigerians We ask that the public refrain from spreading false information while we all engage in proper hand & respiratory hygiene to Prevent COVID19 Spread.”
@Fmohnigeria has announced 5 new cases of #COVID19 in Nigeria bringing the total number confirmed cases in Nigeria to 8
All 5 cases had a travel history to the UK/USA
We urge Nigerians to remain calm as public health response activities are intensified across the country pic.twitter.com/yoKLHXoxhq
— NCDC (@NCDCgov) March 18, 2020
Africa has now recorded at least 10 deaths across four African countries from the current outbreak of Coronavirus.
Egypt so far has reported of at least six deaths with the latest deaths involving a 78-year-old Italian woman and a 70-year-old Egyptian man who died in an isolation hospital.
Egypt (6), Algeria (3), Morocco (2), and Sudan (1) are the number of deaths so far.
At least 31 African countries now have confirmed coronavirus cases totaling over 529.
The challenge for many African countries now is accessing enough testing kits and face masks.
The African Union’s centre for disease control said it is “working to procure emergency medical equipment stockpiles including COVID19 diagnostics, PPE, thermal scanners & other critical equipment that can be used to rapidly equip countries in the event of rapid onset of cases.”
@AfricaCDC is working to procure emergency medical equipment stockpiles including #COVID19 diagnostics, PPE, thermal scanners & other critical equipment that can be used to rapidly equip countries in the event of rapid onset of cases https://t.co/V7Mkv8OvhO pic.twitter.com/K3NV0memeQ
— African Academy of Sciences (@AASciences) March 18, 2020
Source: Africafeeds.com