Coronavirus: We are expecting a medical team from China, says FG

The federal government says a medical team from China will arrive the country in a few days.

Osagie Enahire, minister of health, broke the news at the presidential task force on COVID-19 briefing in Abuja on Friday.

He also said a group of Chinese companies working in Nigeria have donated medical supplies to support the country’s fight against COVID-19.

He said the items include commodities such as personal protective equipment and ventilators.

“I have been notified of medical supplies from China, courtesy of a group of Chinese companies working here in Nigeria. A special cargo aircraft shall leave Nigeria in a few days to collect the items which include commodities, personal protective equipment and ventilators,” he said.

“An 18-man team of Chinese medical experts including doctors, nurses and other medical advisers shall come along with the flight to assist us. I must at this juncture commend our frontline workers who are doing a great job in case identification and management.

“As we prepare to contain COVID-19, we must not lose sight of other health challenges in our country. Routine health service must continue in our hospitals. Only a wing of tertiary health centres should be used for infected patients.”

The minister said nearly 3,000 samples have been tested for the disease, adding that Nigeria will witness an increase in confirmed coronavirus cases despite the lockdown.

Nigeria has recorded 190 confirmed cases out of which Lagos state, which is the epicentre of the disease, has 98 cases.

The federal capital territory (FCT) has 38; Osun, 20, and Oyo, eight cases. Akwa Ibom state has five cases; Ogun and Edo states have four each; Kaduna, four; Bauchi, three.

Enugu and Ekiti states have two cases each while Rivers and Benue states have recorded one each.

In Africa, over 7,000 cases have been recorded with 284 deaths spread across 50 countries.

Globally, the confirmed cases hit one million on Thursday, with at least 51, 300 people dead from complications of the disease.

The infection has spread to 204 countries and territories since the first case was recorded in Wuhan, China, late December.

On March 24, Jack Ma, co-founder of Alibaba, Chinese e-commerce company, donated medical kits for Nigeria to fight coronavirus pandemic.