Nigerian government on Wednesday said it is planning to ban the importations of hand sanitizers in order to bolster local production.
“I’m sure, as you all expect, that very soon, sanitizer will get into the list of items that are banned,” Central Bank governor Godwin Emefiele said in Abuja.
“It is naira that we will pay to buy sanitizers, rather than using dollars to import sanitizers from China,” he added.
Hand sanitizers have become coveted item since the confirmation of novel coronovirus in the country. Nigeria conformed the first case of coronavirus in February.
Although, Nigeria has only confirmed two people positive – a reality many scientists are curious about – the virus has infected more than 118,000 persons in 114 countries and led to, at least, 4,291 deaths.
There are now more than 100 cases recorded in 11 countries in Africa, according to the latest figures from the World Health Organization.
Egypt remains the nation with the most reported cases with 59, more than half of all confirmed cases on the continent.
The WHO has also declared the worldwide outbreak of the new coronavirus a pandemic.
“We have called every day for countries to take urgent and aggressive action. We have rung the alarm bell loud and clear,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Wednesday.
