Lagos
– Nigeria on Monday confirmed its first coronavirus infection in the
insurgency-hit northeast of the country, after a medic with Doctors Without
Borders (MSF) died from Covid-19.
The region has been ravaged by a
decade-long insurgency by Boko Haram jihadists that has forced around 1.8
million people from their homes.
Aid workers fear the virus could
prove devastating if it spreads inside the crowded camps holding hundreds of
thousands of displaced people.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control
said on Twitter that it had recorded one case of the disease in Borno state,
the epicentre of the conflict.
MSF said in a statement that one
of its staff died on 18 April in the state capital Maiduguri “and post-mortem
test results indicated that they were positive for Covid-19”.
The international aid group said
it was supporting Nigeria’s health ministry “in contact tracing”.
In no state to deal with global pandemic
MSF insisted it “will
continue to operate, providing essential treatment for communities in Nigeria”.
“In all our projects and in
order to protect our staff and patients, MSF teams have strengthened infection
prevention measures, hygiene facilities, infection control and the
establishment of isolation spaces,” it said.
Ten years of conflict in northeast
Nigeria has left the region in no state to deal with a global pandemic.
Only half of the roughly 700
health facilities in Borno state are still working and many have been damaged
by the fighting.
Humanitarian workers fear
increased restrictions over the virus could hamper efforts to reach an
estimated 7.1 million people in desperate need of assistance.
Nigeria has so far confirmed 627
infections from the novel coronavirus, with 21 deaths, across the country.
Stay healthy and entertained during the national lockdown. Sign up for our Lockdown Living newsletter. Register and manage your newsletters in the new News24 app by clicking on the Profile tab