The Nigerian government said it has started scaling up its preparedness and response to prevent the importation of coronavirus virus into the country.
This is coming less than 24 hours after the World Health Organisation (WHO) had declared the new coronavirus outbreak as a global threat.
Osagie Ehanire, the Minister of Health, in a press conference in Abuja on Friday, said the government has set up an intersectoral committee to assist the government in its prevention and response efforts.
Ehanire said the committee will oversee the national response to prevent importation of coronavirus.
The Health Minister assured Nigerians that the government was taking adequate measures to address the challenges posed by the virus which first broke out in the Chinese city of Wuhan.
The committee comprises many sectoral agencies including Health, Aviation, Transport, Information and Culture, Police Affairs, Internal Affairs, Agriculture and the Federal Capital Territory.
