Nigerian Man Tests Positive For Coronavirus in US

A Nigerian man has tested positive for deadly Wuhan coronavirus in the United States of America.

This was announced on Saturday night by the Mayor of District of Columbia (DC), Muriel Bowser, in a news conference.

It was learned that the man whose name is yet to be ascertained, lives in Nigeria and is in his 50s, but had been staying with his family members in Washington recently.

According to Bowser, he tested positive in Maryland, where he remains hospitalized.

Officials said; “DC Health has been notified by the State of Maryland of an individual who stayed in DC before presenting himself to a Maryland hospital and then tested positive for COVID-19 by the State of Maryland. DC Health is conducting contact tracing of the patient and individuals of a known contact. CDC will classify this as a DC case because he stayed in DC for one night when he arrived in this country.”

The Nigerian is the second confirmed case in the US capital after another man also in his 50s tested positive for coronavirus.

Bowser said the initial case started exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19 in late February. He was admitted to a Washington hospital on Thursday and appeared to have no history of international travel and no close contacts to any other confirmed cases across the US.

The mayor and public health officials sought to reassure the public and said DC has adequate tests to evaluate patients.

Bowser did not declare a state of emergency.

The DC Department of Health in a statement said; “While this is the first case in the District, there is still no widespread community transmission and the general level of risk for residents is low.”

GLOBAL TIMES recalls that the novel coronavirus renamed by World Health Organisation (WHO) as Covid-19, broke out last December in Wuhan, China.

Over Seventy-three countries including Nigeria have now recorded cases of the deadly virus.

With more than 225 cases confirmed across the U.S., the death toll in the country from the coronavirus outbreak rose to 14 on Friday.

It was reported that more than 100,000 people have been infected worldwide.