The Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, has assured that Nigeria has the capacity to detect and respond to the coronavirus if it is imported into the country. The coronavirus, a deadly new virus which originated in Wuhan, China, has killed more than 170 people and spread to several provinces in the country as well as other countries. Thousands of people have been infected.
The origin is suspected to be a food market that “conducted illegal transactions of wild animals” in Wuhan. Speaking yesterday at the inauguration of the inter-ministerial and multi-sectoral committee on the novel coronavirus in Abuja, he said: “While the risk of importation exists, we can assure Nigerians of the nation’s capacity to detect, assess and respond to this and other public health threats at the point of entry.”