Nigeria’ second coronavirus case now negative

Nigeria’s health minister Osagie Ehanire Friday said that the second confirmed case of coronavirus in the country has tested negative for coronavirus and will be discharged from care.

Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, who disclosed this while briefing journalists yesterday in Abuja, also said that the index case is clinically stable and is much improved adding that steady progress till early next week will guide the medical Team in discharging him.

Ehanire said that as at 13th of March 2020, Nigeria has recorded still just two confirmed cases of COVID-19 one case is now negative and will be discharged from care, while the other will follow in a few days, stressing that after 14 days of follow up with no symptoms, all contacts of the index case will be permitted to go home and rejoin society.

Ehanire recalled that between 7th January and 12th March 2020, a total of 42 people who met case definition were screened for COVID-19 in 6 States- Edo, Lagos, Ogun, Yobe, Rivers, Kano and FCT, out of which 40 tested negative and two were confirmed positive – index case and contact of the index case, with no deaths.

He stressed that the Ministry of Health, through Port Health Services has prioritised measures for COVID-19 containment, especially the screening of passengers at Points of Entry and is assessing the economic impact of the epidemic on the economy.

The minister noted that government has progressed in assessing treatment centres and has now ensured that every state identifies a location that can be used to manage cases while the federal government is supporting these states to scale up capacity to meet existing needs