Nigeria confirms first case of coronavirus in sub Saharan Africa

Nigeria confirms first case of coronavirus in sub Saharan Africa

Lagos, Nigeria(CNN) An Italian citizen who traveled to Lagos, Nigeria's economic nerve center, is the first confirmed case of coronavirus in sub Saharan Africa, according to the country's Health Ministry.

The man works in Nigeria and had returned from Milan to Lagos on February 25, the ministry said. "The patient is clinically stable, with no serious symptoms, and is being managed at the Infectious Disease Hospital in Yaba, Lagos," the ministry said in a statement.

"We have already started working to identify all the contacts of the patient, since he entered Nigeria," the ministry added, urging citizens not to panic. "Citizens must not abuse social media and indulge in spreading misinformation that causes fear and panic," it said.

Nigeria's government has been strengthening measures "to ensure an outbreak in Nigeria is controlled and contained quickly," according to the statement.

Earlier this week, Algeria confirmed the first case on the continent, another Italian passenger who entered the country on February 17. The patient was placed in quarantine, and under close supervision, according to health authorities in Algeria.

The World Health Organization recently said that an outbreak of coronavirus in Africa would hit the continent harder than China. The novel coronavirus has killed at least 2,800 people worldwide, the vast majority in mainland China. There have been more than 83,000 global cases, with infections in every continent except Antarctica.

Many of the countries in Africa are already dealing with severe health crises with limited resources, such as Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo.