Coronavirus: Lagos isolates another patient

The Lagos State government has isolated another traveler from Europe, over fears he may have been infected with the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) disease.

Health Commissioner for Lagos, Akin Abayomi, says the patient is a Nigerian who returned from France three days ago.

The patient has been isolated at the Infectious Disease Centre in Yaba.

“He is a Nigerian who went to France, spent seven days in France, returned to Lagos three days ago and presented with headache and some respiratory symptoms. This is because he has been in a country where there is an active person-to-person transmission, it could be common cold and there is a possibility that it could be coronavirus.

“He has been put in isolation, the test is being run right now, I am expecting the result,” Abayomi says.

Lagos Governor Sanwo-Olu and Health Commissioner Abayomi brief the press on latest coronavirus containment efforts (@Twitter: @Jidesanwoolu) Pulse Nigeria

Nigeria has just one confirmed case of the coronavirus at the time of reporting.

The index patient is an Italian who flew into Lagos late February for business.

He's still undergoing treatment in Lagos, Nigeria's most populous city, and his condition has been described as 'stable.'

The coronavirus has killed more than 3,300 people globally, the vast majority in mainland China where it was first detected.

There are now more than 95,000 COVID-19 cases worldwide, with infections in more than 80 countries and territories.

UPDATE: Lagos now has three cases of suspected coronavirus besides the index patient.

Abayomi says in a tweet: "We now have 3 suspected cases under isolation in our containment facility in Yaba. One from France, one from England and one from China. Their samples have been taken and results are being expected."