Nigeria’s Foreign Affairs Minister Geoffrey Onyeama has tested positive for COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by Coronavirus. He is a member of a presidential task force on COVID-19 that is coordinating the country’s response to the pandemic.
Mr. Onyeama announced in a tweet on Sunday that he would be isolated at a health facility. He took the test following a throat irritation – one of the symptoms of the disease.
‘‘Did my fourth COVID-19 test yesterday at the first sign of throat irritation and unfortunately this time it came back positive. That is life! Win some lose some. Heading for isolation in a health facility and praying for the best,’’ he said.
President Muhammadu Buhari has wished him a quick recovery. The minister becomes the latest high profile individual in the country to contract the virus.
A number of senior politicians, including several state governors, have tested positive for COVID-19.
In April, President Buhari’s chief of staff, Abba Kyari, died from the disease. Nigeria has so far recorded about 36,000 cases of coronavirus, with around 15,000 recoveries and nearly 800 deaths.
