22nd March, 2020
Coronavirus cases in Nigeria jumped from 22 on Saturday to 30 on Sunday, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control(NCDC) said.
NCDC initially announced a total of 26 confirmed cases, with Lagos having 19, Abuja 3, Ogun 2, Ekiti 1 and Oyo 1. Hours after, it reported one more case for Abuja, taking the tally in the Federal capital to 4.
By 5.28pm, NCDC gave a revised tally, including an additional three new cases in Lagos.
“Three new cases of #COVID19 have been confirmed in Lagos, Nigeria. 2 cases are returning travellers and 1 is a contact of a confirmed case. As at 05:28 pm on the 22nd of March, there are 30 confirmed cases of #COVID19 in Nigeria. 2 have been discharged with no deaths.”, NCDC said.
Three new cases of #COVID19 have been confirmed in Lagos, Nigeria
2 cases are returning travellers and 1 is a contact of a confirmed case.
As at 05:28 pm on the 22nd of March, there are 30 confirmed cases of #COVID19 in Nigeria. 2 have been discharged with no deaths. pic.twitter.com/UQVYdkE9Xk
— NCDC (@NCDCgov) March 22, 2020
The disclosure of 22 cases in Lagos appeared to have sent the Lagos Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu and his rapid response team into the panic mode, as he announced a stay-at-home order to civil servants from grade level one to 12.
The order takes effect from Monday, the same day that Nigeria will shut its two major airports, Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos and Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja to international flights.
Nigeria had earlier announced travel ban to 15 countries, with more than 1000 cases of coronavirus.
The countries are United States of America, the United Kingdom, China, Japan, Iran, Switzerland, Norway, Netherland, France, South Korea, Germany, Italy, Spain, Austria and Sweden.
As it turned, the travel ban was not enough to stem the spread of coronavirus as travellers keep bringing it into Nigeria.