The Cross River State government that contact tracing carried out by health officials have dentified and isolated 10 persons who interacted with the Chinese national who reimported COVID-19 into Nigeria.

The State’s Epidemiologist, Dr Inyang Ekpenyong, said that her team visited the Chinese national’s work place in Akamkpa Local Government Area of the state.

“They were identified during contact tracing carried out by health officials. We’ve restricted their movements to their homes, so that they do not spread the symptoms to other persons, she said.”

The epidemiologist reminded members of the public that COVID-19, which broke out six years ago, had not been totally eliminated.

She cautioned people to habitually sanitise their hands, use nose masks, and adhere to other prescriptions by experts.

The government of Cross River has reported an occurrence of COVID-19 in the state, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

Dr Henry Ayuk, the state’s commissioner for health, made the announcement at a news conference on Tuesday in Calabar.

According to him, the first reported case of the outbreak involved a Chinese national, who worked with Lafarge and flew into the country on March 17 before taking ill.

The commissioner stated that the Chinese case became worse at the medical facility of his office and had to be taken to the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH).

He explained that at the UCTH, his samples were taken and all protocols followed; it was subsequently confirmed that he had symptoms of COVID-19.

“We are, however, happy to report that he is doing well,” the commissioner said.

Ayuk asserted that the ministry of health had, however, been repositioned by the current administration to handle and manage any situation – diseases or epidemic outbreaks.

(Vanguard)

More than 4,691 Nigerian doctors have relocated to the United Kingdom since between May 29, 2023 to date, according to UK General Medical Council (GMC).

The UK GMC is a public official register detailing the number of practising doctors in the UK alongside other details such as their areas of speciality, country of training, among others.

As of May 28, 2025, official records showed that the number of Nigerian-trained doctors in the UK was a little over 11,000. The figure has grown significantly since then.

The figure put the total number of Nigeria-trained doctors currently practising in the UK to about 15,692, making Nigeria one of the largest sources of foreign-trained doctors in Britain, second only to India

The exodus of doctors comes as Nigeria’s doctor-to-population ratio hovers around 3.9 per 10,000 people, far below the minimum threshold recommended by the World Health Organisation.