Chidi Samuel| The Italian man who imported Coronavirus into Nigeria has tested negative to the virus, Lagos state governor, Babajide Sanwolu confirmed on Friday night.
In a statement on Friday night, the governor further revealed that health officials were able to limit the transmission of the virus from the index case to only one person.
He said, “I am glad to inform you that the index case; the Italian, is now negative.
“Through a combined effort of Lagos, Ogun and Federal health authorities, we were able to limit the transmission of the virus to a single contact.”
“This involved aggressive contact tracing and containment strategies. However, we now have several new imported cases and we hope we can apply the same contact tracing strategy along with social distancing to slow down the outbreak which may be brewing from these new cases.
“The index patient consented to donating one unit of white blood ( plasma) before he was discharged today. The blood plasma is rich in antibody proteins that target #COVID19 virus.
“The white blood plasma is frozen in our Bio-bank and will be useful in handling new cases. The blood plasma will be beneficial for the treatment of new patients in the absence of a defined therapeutic drug for #COVID19 yet.
“The index patient appreciated the exceptional care and support given to him by staff of the mainland Infectious Disease Hospital, Yaba, all members of the EOC/and the Lagos State government.
“The EOC team was extremely happy to bid the patient farewell. Once again, we like to convey the enthusiasm of our team to do the very best possible in handling incidents of Coronavirus.”
The index case of the Coronavirus in Nigeria, an Italian man, flew into Lagos from Milan via Turkish airlines in February.
Nigeria currently has 12 cases of the dreaded virus which has killed over 4000 persons across the globe and infected many.
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