By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria has recorded 10 new cases of coronavirus on Saturday, March 21, bringing current count to 22.
The confirmation of the new cases was made by the Minister of Health, Mr Osagie Ehanire, during a chat with newsmen. He noted that three out of the newly infected people were in the Federal Capital Territory, while seven were discovered in Lagos. This means cases have been in four locations now with Lagos, Ekiti, and Ogun states.
The three cases in Abuja — two males and one female — all returned to the country between March 14 and 18, adding that one has been in self-isolation, the other two have not.
The Minister also said the 10 new cases are Nigerians, and that nine of them have travel history to Canada, France, the Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom and returned in the past one week, while the tenth case is a close contact of a previously confirmed case.
Mr Ehanire said, “Nigeria has recorded 10 new cases of COVID-19 in Lagos and Abuja.
“That is a total of 22 cases in Nigeria: Lagos, 16; FCT, 3; Ekiti, 1, and Ogun, 2.”
He added that two of the patients have been discharged, and that all cases were clinically stable and receiving adequate care.
One of the recent cases confirmed in Lagos was that of local transmission.
The patient in his 50s did not travel out of the country, but had contact with one of the patients that returned from abroad.
To curb the spread of the virus, the federal government has banned travellers — with the exception of Nigerians — from 15 countries that have recorded more than 1,000 cases of the disease, more are expected to follow as totally confirmed cases worldwide stood at 286,954 with 11,890 with a total of 93,602 cases.
At the moment in Nigeria, large gatherings have been banned, while schools nationwide have been shut down.
Aduragbemi Omiyale