Adeleke Mamora, the minister of state for health, says a Nigerian doctor, Olumide Okunuga who lived in Italy has died after contracting coronavirus in Canada.
The minister said this while speaking with journalists in Abuja on Monday.
He said, “We must be conscious of not being complacent, the price to pay for complacency is huge. I have heard people say that the black man’s gene is resistant and so COVID-19 is not for us.”
“Don’t forget, some black men even from Africa, even from Nigeria have died, unfortunately. We heard the story of one doctor who lived in Italy, a Nigerian, a black man.
“So we should not get carried away. There are a lot of things known about COVID-19 and there are still things unknown. We have to be very careful about believing claims that are yet to be fully validated.”
On if Nigeria would introduce a travel ban to prevent spread of the disease, Mamora said, “We are monitoring the situation and we have received an action guideline from the World Health Organisation.
“We’ll do it if it becomes necessary even before the of today.”
