Nigeria’s Health Minister, Osagie Ehanire, has confirmed the second case of Coronavirus outbreak in the country.
Ehanire who was briefing reporters at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital in Benin City, the Edo State capital, said the second Coronavirus patient had direct contact with an index case of the Italian currently undergoing treatment in Lagos.
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He said the Federal Ministry of Health decided to do a contact tracing of persons who got in contact with the index case and one from Ogun State tested positive.
The new confirmed case is not a new importation but a contact of the index case who is an Italian contractor on a business trip to Ogun State. The
other contacts of the index case are still under observation.
He dispelled myths about the virus not surviving in arid region saying that scientists are still trying to find out about the virus.
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He also put to rest questions on the preparedness of the Nigerian Government to curtail the spread with various quarantine and isolation centres in the country.
He assured of the readiness of the Federal Ministry of Health and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, to continue to give adequate information regarding the novel Coronavirus code-named 19.
He advised Nigerians to wash their hands and or use alcohol-based sanitizers and ensure good respiratory hygiene to curtail the spread of the disease.
