Nigeria records first case of Coronavirus

An Italian citizen who works in Nigeria and just returned from Milan, Italy on Wednesday has tested positive for the dread coronavirus.

This is the third confirmed case in Africa and the first in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Lagos has a population of over 20 million people and is Nigeria’s economic capital.

“The case which was confirmed on 27/02/2020 is the first case to be reported in Nigeria since the beginning of the outbreak in China in January 2020,” the Health Ministry said in a post on Twitter.

The Italian (whose name has been withheld) is said to be “clinically stable, with no serious symptoms, and is being managed at the Infectious Disease Hospital in Yaba, Lagos.”

Several European countries have announced their first coronavirus cases, all apparently linked to the growing outbreak in Italy.

Austria, Croatia, Greece and Switzerland said the cases involved people who had been to Italy, as did Algeria in North Africa, reports the BBC.