The federal government has declared that all new suspected cases of coronavirus officially named COVID-19 by the World Health Organization, WHO, in the country have tested negative.
It also allayed fears of confirmed cases of the condition.
Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, told reporters in Abuja that two cases, which met the case definition for the virus were tested and found negative, while two other cases are currently undergoing series of tests on Friday.
According to him: they carried out thirty investigations of people that have called them for one reason or the other.
Out of that, two of them have met the case definition, that is, the person must have returned in the last fourteen days.
The Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire also stated that Nigeria now has the capacity to test for the COVID-19 in three major states of Abuja, Lagos, and Irrua in Edo state.
According to him, Nigeria’s level of preparedness is very high despite the fact that there are reports that the Covid-19 has a fatality rate of about two percent, which is not too high but spreads very rapidly.
Meanwhile The Federal Government has revealed that it is currently developing a vaccine for Lassa fever.
The vaccine which is in its first stage of trial is being developed in Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital by top Nigerian scientist, alongside experts from Germany.
The Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, who made this known at a press briefing in Abuja, said, Top Nigerian scientists in Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital are working on a vaccine for Lassa fever in collaboration with German experts, saying they have conducted a first stage trial that might take a couple of years to completely develop because developing a vaccine is in stages.
The Minister also explained that the country has five strategically placed diagnostic laboratories for testing Lassa fever which include, National Reference Laboratory in Abuja, Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, Federal Medical Centre Owo and Alex Ekwueme Federal Teaching Hospital, Abakalilki.
Culled from The Nation
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