The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) on Sunday, May 3rd, 2020, announced a review of the case definition for coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

It said the review became imperative due to the community transmission of the deadly virus occurring in some parts of the country.

The NCDC added more symptoms to existing ones that could make someone to be suspected of having contracted the disease.

It said,

Due to community transmission in parts of the country, a new case definition has been published for COVID-19 in Nigeria.

Suspect case: Those with cough or fever (or history of fever in the last two weeks) with one or more of these symptoms: shivering /shaking (chills); body pain; headache; sore throat; recent loss of taste or smell; difficulty in breathing/shortness of breath; diarrhea/abdominal pain; runny nose/catarrh; fatigue (tiredness).

A probable case of COVID-19 is any person that presented with any of the above symptoms in the last two weeks and died without a confirmatory COVID-19 test.

Responding to a frequently asked question of whether persons who developed the COVID-19 symptoms should visit nearby health facilities, the centre warned against such a step.

It stated,

No (don’t visit nearby health facilities). It is important you stay indoors and avoid contact with others. Call your state hotline immediately for further guidance.

We are currently receiving a high volume of calls which unfortunately means that you may not be able to reach us easily through our toll-free number.

Alternatively, you may contact us via sms, WhatsApp,Twitter/Facebook and email.

Justin Nwosu

Justin Nwosu is the founder and publisher of Flavision. His core interest is in writing unbiased news about Nigeria in particular and Africa in general. He’s a strong adherent of investigative journalism, with a bent on exposing corruption, abuse of power and societal ills.