The Italian man, who was diagnosed with Coronavirus in Nigeria on Thursday, February 28, 2020, arrived in the country via a Turkish Airline flight. This was disclosed by the Lagos State Government (LASG).
Nairametrics had reported that the first case of Coronavirus in Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa was confirmed in Lagos.
While addressing journalists at the State House in Marina, Prof. Akin Abayomi, Lagos Commissioner for Health, said the man whose identity is yet-to-be-disclosed, started his journey from Milan in Italy on Monday, February 24.
Abayomi explained that, “The Coronavirus patient transited through Istanbul on Turkish Airlines and arrived in Lagos on Monday night at 9:00 pm.”
[READ MORE: Health: Nigeria records first case of coronavirus)
The health commissioner said after arriving Lagos on Monday, the Italian embarked on a business trip to Ogun State, where he fell ill.
Abayomi said, “He spent the night in a hotel near the airport and on Tuesday morning, he moved down to his business in Ogun state where he is engaged by a corporate entity.
“He carried out business within the confines of that company on Tuesday and in the early part of Wednesday. He spent the night in their accommodation which is a confined environment.
“By the afternoon, he started to develop symptoms of high fever and body pains. He presented to the company’s medical facility where the investigation began.”
The commissioner added that efforts were ongoing to identify those the Italian had been in contact with since he arrived the country.
“We are busy identifying any person that could have possibly come in contact with him so that we can start our isolation and containment exercise to ensure that we break the cycle of transmission,” he was quoted as saying.
Meanwhile, Aljazeera reports that the Coronavirus epidemic has killed nearly 3,000 people, and more than 83,000 people have been infected across the globe.
The govt should publish the man’s picture as well as name the company where he works in Ogun to jolt the memory of some people who’ve come in contact with him but are not quite sure he’s the one. While I appreciate the reasons for anonymity, but protecting millions of lives is more important at this time.