By JOSHUA ODEYEMI

The Minister for Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, has warned Nigerians to reduce the tradition of hands shaking and hugging in order not to contract the novel coronavirus.

While speaking at the ground-breaking ceremony of a 3000-capacity custodial centre in Karshi, Abuja on Thursday, the Minister enjoined Nigerians to always stay three feet away from one another and avoid crowded places.

“Don’t shake hands again, don’t hug for now except your family members, maintain three feet distance between you and the next person,” he warned.

The Minister advised Nigerians to greet by bowing and touching their hearts.

Aregbesola said coronavirus had become a global emergency, stressing that all hands must be on deck to ensure it doesn’t “become a serious problem here.”

He added that: “We must be cautious of coronavirus and work towards preventing it. We owe it to ourselves, our family, and community to be very vigilant.” While urging Nigerians not to panic, he encouraged hygienic living to prevent the virus.

Coronavirus in Nigeria

Nigeria recorded her first case of coronavirus on 27 February when an Italian who was having the virus flew to Nigeria from Milan.

In its update on 9th March, 2020, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control said a total of 217 contacts were linked to the index case.

“Of the 217, 45 travelled out of Nigeria and 172 are presently in Nigeria. Of the 172 contacts currently in Nigeria, 69 are in Lagos, 40 in Ogun and 52 in other States, with 11 in unknown locations.

“Nevertheless, the Federal Ministry of Health, following best practice, decided to test these persons for the possible presence of coronavirus in their systems.

“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 newly confirmed case is an Ogun State contact of the index case, but he has no significant clinical symptoms.

This brings the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Nigeria today to two,” Dr. Osagie Ehanire, Nigeria’s Minister of Health said.

Coronavirus elsewhere

The virus is hitting hard on every aspect of the society with the President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, lamenting over the economic impact the coronavirus was having on the country.

He was speaking on the impact of coronavirus on the nation’s revenue for the first time while receiving workers in the health sector under the aegis of Joint Health Sector Unions and Assembly Healthcare Professionals Associations.

On Monday, the Federal Government announced the possibility of an impending plan to reduce the N10.6tn 2020 budget, following the impact of the outbreak of Coronavirus on the global crude oil price.

Many competitions have been suspended around the globe because of coronavirus with some players testing positive for the virus already.

Juventus centre-back, Daniele Rugani tested positive for the virus on Wednesday while Cristiano Ronaldo is in self-isolation in Portugal.

Also, a number of Leicester players have shown symptoms of coronavirus and have been “kept away from the squad”, manager Brendan Rodgers said on Thursday.

There are two Nigerians in the team- midfield sensation, Winfred Ndidi and striker Kelechi Iheanacho. The game between Manchester City and Arsenal on Wednesday was postponed as a “precautionary measure” after Olympiakos owner Vangelis Marinakis tested positive for coronavirus.

Facebook said Friday it was shutting its London office and part of its Singapore base for “deep cleaning” after an employee in the Asian city state was diagnosed with coronavirus.

A staff member working at the US technology giant’s Marina One office in Singapore was on Friday diagnosed with COVID-19, a spokesman told AFP. (Daily Trust)

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