President Muhammadu Buhari has asked Nigerians not to panic over the confirmed case of Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Nigeria, saying that his administration is tackling the deadly disease.
The Nigerian leader The Witness understands made the appeal in a statement signed by his spokesperson, Garba Shehu, on Sunday.
Expressing sadness over the confirmation of the virus in Lagos state, the president commended the Federal Ministry of Health and other relevant agencies for quickly detecting, diagnosing and isolating the patient, quickly.
Buhari also commended them for swift measures taken to identify and follow up on those with whom the index patient came into contact.
He commended the responses of the Federal Ministry of Health and Governments of Lagos and Ogun States as well as other relevant agencies to the reported incident and called for vigilance on the part of all citizens and responsible government agencies.
He urged, “Nigerians not to panic about the news of this first case of Covid-19 in our country, as undue alarm would do us more harm than good.”
Buhari added: “Instead, Nigerians should strictly observe the advisories disseminated by the Ministry of Health, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and the World Health Organization (WHO), on the best way to prevent infection.
“This information is being broadcast in all available media by the Federal Ministry of Information.”