A man wearing face mask walks at the Yaba Mainland hospital where the first Nigerian victims of the COVID-19 virus are being treated in Lagos, Nigeria, Feb. 28, 2020 (Sunday Alamba via AP)
Nigeria reported the first coronavirus case in sub-Saharan Africa on Friday.
The virus has proliferated around the globe over the past week, emerging in every continent except Antarctica, prompting many governments and businesses to try to stop people travelling or gathering in crowded places.
World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Thursday the world was at a “decisive point” and countries could still contain the epidemic if they “act aggressively now.”
“No country should assume it won’t get cases; that could be a fatal mistake, quite literally. This virus does not respect borders,” Tedros said in Geneva.