The Federal Government has confirmed its first death from Coronavirus (COVID-19).

The Honourable Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire disclosed this today, at a Press Briefing in Abuja. The case was a 67-year male who returned home following medical treatment in the United Kingdom. “Sadly, we recorded our first death from COVID-19 in the country. This was a Nigerian who unfortunately, had underlying medical illnesses and died due to complications on the 22nd of March in Abuja,” he said.

He also disclosed that Nigeria has so far recorded 36 confirmed cases of COVID-19. Out of these 36 confirmed cases, 25 are in Lagos, 6 in FCT, 2 in Ogun, 1 in Edo, 1 in Ekiti and 1 in Oyo. Explaining further, he stated that out of the 36 cases, 26 had travel history to affected countries in the last 2 weeks, 6 are contacts of confirmed cases and 4 have no recent travel history or known contact. Two of the confirmed cases have been discharged, 32 out of the 33 active cases are clinically stable with mild symptoms while 1 patient is oxygen-dependent.

Speaking further, the Minister stated that following the declaration of a pandemic by WHO and increased the spread of COVID-19, the Federal Government through the Presidential Task Force on the Control of COVID-19, has employed diverse strategies to interrupt and halt the spread of the disease. “To this end, a ban has been placed on all international flights effective from today, the 23rd of March 2020 with the exception of emergency and essential flights. These were not easy decisions to make but have become necessary in view of the changing developments in the country as we witness more confirmed cases of COVID-19. More measures may be instituted by the federal and state government in the coming days as the situation demands,” he said.

He stated that the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) is working closely with the state governments of all affected states to carry out contact tracing and advised all health facilities to be on high alert and for state, local government, law enforcement authorities and community leaders to give full cooperation to investigators.   He urged all Nigerian residents to maintain social distancing and other hygiene measures very seriously, to prevent the spread of the disease in Nigeria, stressing the need for self-isolation for 14 days on return from international travel and calling NCDC’s toll-free number: 080097000010 if symptoms of COVID-19 develops.