TheCable

The Italian who imported coronavirus to Nigeria has tested negative for the virus.

The man, who flew into Nigeria from Milan, Italy, on February 24, had been receiving treatment at the Infectious Disease Hospital in Yaba, Lagos.

At a press briefing on Thursday, Akin Abayomi, commissioner for health, said the 44-year-old Italian tested negative for the virus.

He said another test would be conducted and if he also tests negative, the patient would be discharged.

“The index case is now negative. The only reason he is still with us is because he needs two negative tests but he is ready and anxious to go,” he said.

When he arrived in Nigeria, the Italian reportedly lodged at a hotel close to Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Ikeja, Lagos, before moving to Lafarge Africa Plc, Ewekoro in Ogun state, the next day.

He fell sick on the third day of his stay in the country and tested positive for the disease two days after.

Subsequently, 39 people who had contact with him were quarantined but one of them tested positive for the disease while others were discharged.

But the Nigerian who contracted the disease later recovered. There are currently nine active coronavirus cases in the country while the federal government has taken many measures to prevent the spread of the disease.

The National Sports Festival, scheduled for Edo state was cancelled, all orientation camps of the National Youth Service Corps across the country were shut while travel ban was imposed on 13 high-risk countries, including China, the UK and the US.

Some state governments also banned public officials from foreign trips while advising Nigerians to cancel all travels abroad, especially to high-risk countries.