Coronavirus: Do not panic, Buhari begs Nigerians

President Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday night admonished Nigerians not to panic in the face of the outbreak of Coronavirus (COVID-19).

He also expressed his sadness over the spread of the virus to Nigeria.

According to the statement, by his spokesman Garba Shehu,  President Buhari encouraged Nigerians to, instead of giving in to fear mongering, pay attention to all the preventive advisories being offered by all relevant bodies, especially the Ministry of Health, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (CDC) and the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The President noted that giving in to scary and threatening messages flying around would do more harm than good to national consciousness on the global development.

“President Muhammadu Buhari notes with sadness, the recent confirmation of a case of Covid-19 infection in Lagos, Nigeria.

“This was despite the ardent efforts of the government regarding preparedness and response measures put in place in our country’s borders and beyond.

“President Buhari, however, commends the Federal Ministry of Health and other relevant agencies whose diligence and efficiency enabled the case to be detected, diagnosed and isolated quickly, even while swift measures were taken to identify and follow up on those with whom the index patient came into contact.

“The President commends the responses of the Federal Ministry of Health and Governments of Lagos and Ogun States as well as other relevant agencies to the reported incident and calls for vigilance on the part of all citizens and responsible government agencies.

“President Buhari urges Nigerians not to panic about the news of this first case of Covid-19 in our country, as undue alarm would do us more harm than good.

“Instead, Nigerians should strictly observe the advisories disseminated by the Ministry of Health, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and the World Health Organisation (WHO), on the best way to prevent infection”, the statement said.