Boss Mustapha tests negative for coronavirus, health minister announces
The minister also said Nigeria will not accept many of the test kits offered by outside parties because the kits are unreliable.
President Muhammadu Buhari (centre) and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha (left), have both tested negative for coronavirus days after the president's Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari (right), tested positive [Presidency]
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This was revealed by the Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, during a media briefing on Thursday, March 26, 2020.
The SGF, who heads the Presidential Task Force for the Control of COVID–19, is a known contact of Abba Kyari, President Muhammadu Buhari's chief of staff, who recently tested positive for the disease.
"I've also been empowered by the SGF to reveal his own test result which is that it is negative," Ehanire said.
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![Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire [Twitter/@OsagieEhanire]](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf8,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg'%20width%3D'790'%20height%3D'527'%20data-ring-placeholder%3D'1'%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E "Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire [Twitter/@OsagieEhanire]")
Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire [Twitter/@OsagieEhanire]
Pulse Nigeria
The minister noted that he only publicly announced Mustapha's result because the SGF directed him to do so. He said authorities will continue to adhere to the policy of not naming test subjects in public, regardless of if they test positive or negative.
"Any person who does a test will have to reveal by himself. I cannot reveal it," he said.
The minister also said Nigeria will continue to limit its testing capabilities to testing kits that are approved by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
After almost one month of screenings, Nigeria has only conducted 178 coronavirus lab tests, according to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).
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The low rate of testing has raised concerns about what could be the true spread of the disease around the country.
However, Ehanire said many of the test kits being offered authorities by outside parties are not as reliable as what is currently used.
"The result you get has to be reliable and meet all the criteria for protecting our citizens," he said.
Nigeria has recorded 51 cases of coronavirus in eight states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), as of March 25.
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