Five additional people have tested positive to coronavirus (COVID-19) in Nigeria bringing the official number of cases to 8. This was made known in a statement made by the government on Wednesday, March 18, 2020.
The Ministry of Health said all new cases have a history of travel to the United States of America and the United Kingdom where at least 1000 cases of the pandemic have been recorded. According to the Minister of Health, four of the infected people were discovered in Lagos while one in Ekiti state.
A 6-week-old baby, the youngest recorded so far in the country, is one of the new positive cases.
“We urge Nigerians to remain calm as public health response activities are intensified across the country,” the ministry said.
The announcement of the new cases come just moments after the government announced travel restrictions on travelers from 13 foreign countries with over 1000 plus cases of the deadly coronavirus the countries includes; USA, Uk, China, Italy, Iran, South Korea, Spain, Japan, France, Germany, Norway, Netherlands, and Switzerland. The Federal Government has also suspended the issuance of visas on arrival to travelers from the affected countries.
All travelers returning from the affected countries prior to the restriction will be in supervised self-isolation, monitored by the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and Port Health Services. The traveling restrictions would come into effect on Friday, March 20, and will be reviewed after four weeks.
