Second coronavirus patient in Nigeria now negative

The second confirmed coronavirus case in Nigeria has now tested negative.

Osagie Ehanire, minister of health, broke the news in Abuja on Friday.

With this development, Nigeria now has only one confirmed case of coronavirus who is currently being treated at the Infectious Disease Hospital in Yaba, Lagos.

He said the index case — an Italian — is making good progress and should be released from hospital next week.

“As at today, March 13, 2020, Nigeria has recorded still just two confirmed cases of coronavirus with no deaths. One case has tested negative and will be discharged from care,” he told journalists in Abuja.

“After 14 days of follow up with no symptoms, all contacts of the index case both in Ogun state and Lagos state will be allowed to go home and rejoin society.”

Ehanire had on Monday announced that the second case of coronavirus in Nigeria.

The patient was reported to have had “close contact” with the Italian man.

“The newly confirmed case is an Ogun state contact of the index case but he has no significant clinical symptoms. This brings the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Nigeria to two,” he had said.

“Following recent experiences from other countries and evidence from newly published studies of known symptomatic infections, the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) advised that samples be taken from all contacts of the index case for testing. It is in this process that this new case was detected.”

Nigeria’s index case of coronavirus flew into the country from Milan, which has the highest record of the disease in Europe, on February 24.

A total of 39 people who were reported to have had contact with him were quarantined while the federal government commenced the search for those who were aboard the Turkish Airline flight that brought him to the country.