THE Lagos State Commissioner of Health, Akin Abayomi, has announced that three new suspected cases of Coronavirus have been recorded in the state.

Sharing the information via Twitter, the commissioner revealed that the patients have been isolated in the containment facility located in Yaba area of Lagos.

According to him, the patients are from England, China and France. He added that the three were quarantined after being subjected to the Coronavirus test, the results of which are being expected. He gave no further details about the patients.

Since Nigeria announced its first case of the disease last week, many have expressed worry over its spread when the nation’s ability to curb an outbreak is under question.

Recently, Senate President Ahmad Lawan led a delegation to inspect the isolation centre at University of Abuja Teaching Hospital (UATH) and found that no structure was in place to handle even a single case of Coronavirus.

Lawan’s finding corroborates the investigation carried out by The ICIR two weeks ago, when it was found that two major hospitals in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, – UATH and National hospital – were are ill-equipped to handle the deadly virus or any other infectious disease.

Meanwhile, globally, according to the World Health Organisation, WHO, the virus has infected over 95,000 people and killed 3,000 persons since an outbreak was first recorded in Wuhan, China, in December 2019.

There is no known cure or vaccine for the virus but health advisories state that people should carry out  steps to prevent infection and keep safe. These steps include wash of hands with alcohol-based hand rub or washing them with soap and water regularly and maintaining at least 1 metre (3 feet) distance between yourself and anyone who is coughing or sneezing.