TheCable

Tedros Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organisation (WHO), has commended the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) on how it is managing coronavirus in the country.

Writing via his Twitter handle on Saturday, Ghebreyesus said Nigeria was swift and transparent in sharing the sequence of the infection code-named COVID-19.

He described the gesture as “a true act of solidarity”, adding that it would help curb the spread of the virus.

The WHO DG wrote: “Thank you @NCDCgov & the Government of #Nigeria for the swift & transparent way you have shared the #COVID19 sequence from the country’s first case.

“This a true act of solidarity and an important step in stopping the #coronavirus from spreading further.”

Thank you @NCDCgov & the Government of #Nigeria for the swift & transparent way you have shared the #COVID19 sequence from the country's first case. This a true act of solidarity and an important step in stopping the #coronavirus from spreading further. https://t.co/6fv15oMDTm

— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) March 7, 2020

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Responding, Chikwe Ihekweazu, NCDC director-general, thanked Ghebreyesus for “recognising the collaborative efforts of Nigeria”, adding that the journey is still far.

Thank you @DrTedros for recognising the collaborative efforts of Nigeria – @ProfAkinAbayomi of @LSMOH, @LawalSalako of @nimrnigeria, Prof Omilabu of @LUTHofficial, @christian_happi of @acegid_lab and our #NCDCTeam.

Still long journey ahead…. https://t.co/RAebI127lJ

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— Chikwe Ihekweazu (@Chikwe_I) March 7, 2020

The sequence, which was published here, was carried out in collaboration with the African Centre of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases (ACEGID), The Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR) and Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH).

Nigeria currently has only one confirmed case of coronavirus — an Italian who arrived in Lagos a week ago on a business trip.