By Adedapo Adesanya
A third case of coronavirus in Nigeria has been confirmed on Tuesday, March 17 by the Lagos State Government through its Commissioner for Health, Mr Akin Abayomi, who said the new case was an independent case of the index.
Speaking at a press briefing on the development, the Commissioner said, ”We have a 30-year-old who returned on March 13. She returned from the UK after a 10-day stay. After the isolation period, she became unwell and had dry cough.”
”We went to collect her sample and we tested that sample and that sample tested positive. As at yesterday, we now have a third case in Lagos, and as I know, Nigeria. As I speak, the honourable minister of health is giving his press briefing.
”She arrived on BA 75 on the 13th of March. As of last night, we have kick started the process of isolation. She has been moved from her home to infectious centre in Yaba. She is no longer a suspect; she is a confirmed case.
“We will be reaching out to every member of that flight. We are going to repeat what we did with the index case.
”Luckily, she has been very obedient to our directives so she didn’t go anywhere till we moved her. She has been moved with her family, who are in the family suite, well separated from her.
“This is an additional measure because in Lagos we are trying to be very aggressive with the contact tracing because we don’t want the case to be transmitted. She is doing well; she does not need any active intervention but supportive care,” he further said.
The Commissioner said calls have been put out to passengers on flight BA 75 that arrived in Lagos on March 13, 2020, asking them to stay at home and isolate themselves for 14 days.
He then urged them to consult the LSMOH hotlines – 08000corona, 08023169485, 08033565529, 08052817243, 08028971864, 08059758886, 08035387653.
The first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in the country on February 27.
Aduragbemi Omiyale