Among The first countries in the west of Africa to announce, the first deaths caused by the coronavirus pandemic were Nigeria and Zimbabwe. Many countries have begun enforcing restriction of movements and human interaction to stem down the rapid spread of the disease.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), reported on tweeter the first death of the 67-year old man from the UK who had travelled there for medical treatment and had just landed in Nigeria. He was also suffering from other medical conditions such as cancer and diabetes. The NCDC had earlier recorded more cases of the same disease thus bringing the total number ofinfected people to 36, 25 having been in Lagos, the capital city which has a population of over 20 million people.
The government has taken drastic measures to curb the spread of the virus such as heightening surveillance at the airports and other entry points and creating public health awareness through campaigns and advertisement. With more than 95,000 coronavirus cases around the world and 3,300 deaths, Nigerians are worried about the spreading virus, even though authorities are urging citizens to remain calm.
Many countries including Nigeria are taking serious precautions and can learn lessons from Nigeria’s previous fight with the deadly disease 2014 Ebola outbreak and other diseases like Lassa fever. Countries out to invest in pandemic preparedness before an outbreak occurs. Just like other countries, Nigeria is asking the citizens to be transparent about the disease and give out any necessary report in regards to it. Nigeria has also invested huge amounts of money in laboratory diagnoses of the Corona virus as a measure to curb its spread. Confirmed cases now IN Nigeria as of 27/3/2020 are 70, 3 discharged, and 1 death.
An interview with the Lagos state correspondent on health matters, Aminat Elegushi sheds more light on the situation of corona virus in Lagos State, Nigeria.
