Nigeria confirms 2nd coronavirus case

The new coronavirus case had made contact with the Italian businessman who was first diagnosed in Nigeria.

Nigeria has confirmed a second case of coronavirus in the country over one week after the first case.

The Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, made the disclosure during a press conference on Monday, March 9, 2020.

A total of 60 people had been quarantined in Lagos and Ogun states after an Italian businessman was diagnosed with the virus after entering the country in late February.

"On 8th March 2020, scientists confirmed the presence of coronavirus in one of the contacts. It is my duty therefore to announce a new case of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Nigeria," the minister said.

Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire [Twitter/@OsagieEhanire]

The minister noted that the new patient, an Ogun State contact of Italian, has 'no significant clinical symptoms'.

The patient has now been placed in isolation and under clinical follow up and in care at Infectious Disease Hospital, Lagos.

All other contacts of the Italian in Ogun and Lagos will remain in isolation and testing will be carried out on those not yet tested, including some in other states.

Over 110,000 people have been infected with the coronavirus worldwide since the first case was detected in Wuhan, China in December 2019.

Nearly 4000 people have been killed by the virus which has spread to over 100 countries across the world. Over 66,000 infected people have also recovered from the virus.