UPDATE 7-Italian with coronavirus in Nigeria was not isolated for almost 48 hours

* Man stayed at Lagos hotel, travelled to neighbouring Ogun
state
* Man did not develop symptoms until days after he landed
* Nigeria is Africa's most populous nation
* Economy threatened by oil prices tumbling due to virus

(Adds details on Africa CDC and WHO)
By Alexis Akwagyiram and Camillus Eboh
LAGOS/ABUJA, Feb 28 (Reuters) - An Italian man who has been
confirmed as Nigeria's first coronavirus case after arriving
from Milan was in the country for almost two full days,
travelling through Lagos and visiting another state before being
isolated.
The case is the first in sub-Saharan Africa. Authorities
fear the virus could spread quickly in a region where health
systems are already overburdened with cases of malaria, measles,
Ebola and other infectious diseases.
Lagos, with 20 million people, is the biggest city in
Nigeria, Africa's most populous country. The West African
country, with a population of some 200 million people, has a
shortage of doctors and hospitals are often poorly maintained.
The Italian man works for cement company Lafarge Africa Plc
WAPCO.LG in the southwestern state of Ogun, the company said
in a statement. It said it had identified people who had "direct
contact" with him before carrying out "isolation, quarantine and
disinfection protocol."
The Ogun state governor, in a separate media briefing, said
28 people had been placed in quarantine by the company the man
worked for, although he did not mention it by name.
The case has prompted a scramble by Nigerian authorities to
try to "meet and observe" all passengers who arrived on the same
flight as the man and to identify the places he visited before
being hospitalised.
"We have started working to identify all the contacts of the
person since he entered Nigeria and even those who were with him
on the aircraft," Health Minister Osagie Ehanire told reporters
on Friday in the capital, Abuja.
The Italian, whose country has been hit harder hit by the
virus than any other in Europe, arrived on Feb. 24 on a Turkish
Airlines flight that had a connection in Istanbul, said Lagos
state commissioner for health, Akin Abayomi.
After spending the night in a hotel near the airport, he
went on Feb. 25 to his place of work in neighbouring Ogun state,
and stayed there until he developed a fever and body aches on
the afternoon of Feb. 26, Abayomi told a news conference.
He was then transferred to a high containment facility in
Yaba, Lagos state.
Ehanire said the infection was confirmed on Feb. 27 by the
Virology Laboratory of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital,
and that the man was now quarantined and doing well.
Turkish Airlines did not immediately comment on the case.
There are no confirmed cases in Turkey.
Nigerian stocks fell 1.63% to their lowest level in two
months on Friday following the announcement of the coronavirus
case. The spread of the new coronavirus from China has hit global
financial markets, and Nigeria's economy is at risk from the
tumbling price of oil, which accounts for 90% of its foreign
exchange earnings.
The latest World Health Organization figures indicate over
82,000 people have been infected, with over 2,700 deaths in
China and 57 deaths in 46 other countries. NETWORK
Officials from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC)
are heading to Lagos to help address the case, and have
activated its national Emergency Operations Centre.
International health organisation said they were working
alongside their Nigerian counterparts.
Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa
CDC) said it is in contact with NCDC and is working with the WHO
and other partners to support the Nigerian government's
response.
In a statement it said it had deployed one epidemiologist to
Nigeria to support assessment and response to the outbreak, and
has shipped 1,000 COVID-19 laboratory test kits to the country.
And the WHO, which has said it already has experts in
Nigeria, has identified Nigeria as one of 13 "high priority"
countries in Africa. Dr Mike Ryan, executive director of WHO's
emergencies programme, told a Geneva news conference on Friday
that Nigeria had "well-tested mechanisms for dangerous
pathogens."
He said Nigeria was able to utilise a laboratory network
that had been developed to handle cases of Lassa fever,
monkeypox and influenza.
Schools and offices in Lagos provided hand sanitizer to
people entering buildings on Friday.
"There's a run on suppliers at the moment for hand sanitizer
and masks," said Andrew Garza, chief operating officer of
Lifestores Healthcare, a Lagos-based health technology company
that provides inventory services to local pharmacies.
Garza said some stockists had sold out of hand sanitizer.
($1 = 305.9200 naira)

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