The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) has appealed to the general public to be calm, responding to the first case of COVID-19 (coronavirus disease) reported in Lagos State earlier in the day on Friday, February 28th, 2020.

The Forum’s Chairman and Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, in a statement issued last night, advised everyone to adhere to precautionary measures recommended by the Federal Ministry of Health and other relevant government agencies.

Fayemi said that the forum had already setup monitoring mechanism in each state of the federation, to ensure that prompt response and quick attention is given to anyone who shows symptoms of the deadly disease.

He encouraged Nigerians to self-quarantine themselves, if they notice symptoms related to the deadly, viral disease and contact the nearest hospital within their states. He said:

We will deploy all resources available to respond and contain further spread of the virus.

The forum, which also advised Nigerians not to involve themselves in spreading fake news and misinformation that can trigger chaos, panic and fear. The NGF assured the citizens that the Federal Ministry of Health and other designated Federal and State agencies will provide any relevant update related to the coronavirus.

The statement partly read:

The case, which is the first reported in Sub-Saharan Africa, is an Italian citizen who works in Nigeria and journeyed from Milan, Italy to Lagos, Nigeria through Istanbul, Turkey on the 25th of February 2020 and is said to have spent some time in Ogun state. The patient is said to be clinically stable, with no serious symptoms, and is currently being managed at the Infectious Disease Hospital in Yaba, Lagos.

Since the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was designated as a global epidemic, the State Governments have been strengthening emergency response preparedness and capabilities in conjunction with the Federal Government and all other relevant Agencies.

In response to the first case reported, the Federal Government, through the Federal Ministry of Health and Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), has already activated its National Emergency Operations Centre and is working closely with Lagos State Ministry of Health to respond to this case and implement firm control measures to prevent further widespread.

Justin Nwosu

Justin Nwosu is the founder and publisher of Flavision. His core interest is in writing unbiased news about Nigeria in particular and Africa in general. He’s a strong adherent of investigative journalism, with a bent on exposing corruption, abuse of power and societal ills.