Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Wednesday that his son was hospitalised after contracting the novel coronavirus.
“My firstborn is infected by the coronavirus and his clinical condition is such that he was admitted to the infectious diseases clinic,” Vucic posted to his Instagram page.
No other details were immediately available.
Danilo Vucic, 22, is the oldest of Vucic’s three children.
Meanwhile, the Ambassador of China to Nigeria, Zhou Pingjian, on Wednesday, said the Chinese experts that arrived Nigeria came to reciprocate the gestures demonstrated by Nigeria during China’s trying times in fighting Covid-19
Speaking with newsmen after the arrival of the team along with more medical equipment, the Ambassador acknowledged that the Nigerian government had shown China great solidarity when it struggled with the Coronavirus pandemic.
He, therefore, said the support coming from the Chinese government and its companies in Nigeria was China’s way of reciprocating.
He noted that so far, it had cost China’s Construction Company, CCECC about $2 million to bring in the experts and the medical equipment.
The ambassador said that he could not understand the rationale behind the attitude of some Nigerians who were against the coming of the experts.
“I am struggling to understand the logic. For us, at the most difficult stage of our fight, we received support from Nigeria, it is time for us to reciprocate the friendship and the kindness.
“This is the first time I met the Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, since early February and I appreciate the strong support for us from him and the government.
“For the government and Chinese businesses, what we are trying to do is to address the concerns of our dear friends.
“According to the information the CCECCE gave to me, the value of the equipment and medical supplies is around $1.5 million and including the other costs like the flight, it is around $2 million,” he said.
He disclosed that the experts were originally billed to stay for one month but noted that the mandatory quarantine may also determine how long they will stay.
The ambassador said the major secret which worked for China, especially in Wuhan the epicentre of the virus, was the lockdown and the success in breaking the chain of transmission.
“The lockdown in Wuhan lasted 76 days, since January Wuhan had been in lockdown, today has been the very first day that the lockdown has been lifted.
“One key measure for us to fight the Covid-19 is to try every means to break the chain of transmission,” he said.
Also on Wednesday, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has confirmed 22 new cases of coronavirus in the country, bring the total number of cases to 276.
NCDC, through its verified Twitter account on Tuesday night, said that the 22 new cases were from four states – Lagos, 15; FCT, four ; Bauchi, two, and Edo, one.
The centre said that as at 9p.m., April 8, there were 276 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Nigeria.
It said that 44 had been discharged and six died.
Lagos remains the epicentre with 145 cases, and FCT follows with 54 cases, and Osun, 20, and Edo, 12.
According to NCDC, there are 11 cases in Oyo, eight in Bauchi, five each in Akwa Ibom and Kaduna, four in Ogun, two each in Enugu, Ekiti, Kwara and Rivers, and one each in Benue, Delta, Katsina and Ondo.
The spike in Osun was linked to the arrival of Nigerians from ECOWAS countries.
Several groups of Nigerians have made known their intentions to return home.
Of the 44 COVID-19 patients discharged so far, seven are from the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital.
In Britain, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is “improving” in intensive care, the government said on Wednesday, as it reported a new daily record of 938 deaths linked to novel coronavirus infections.
Johnson was moved to intensive care late Monday, following his admission to hospital on Sunday for tests after he experienced “persistent symptoms” of the coronavirus. He reported his infection with the virus on March 27.
“The latest from the hospital is that the prime minister remains in intensive care, where his condition is improving,” Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak told reporters.
“I can also tell you that he has been sitting up in bed and engaging positively with the clinical team,” Sunak added.
Johnson was still receiving “standard oxygen treatment” but was breathing without any other assistance, a Downing Street spokesman said earlier.
The daily high of 938 deaths took Britain’s total to more than 7,000.
The health ministry said the total of confirmed infections rose to nearly 61,000 from 282,000 people tested, but government experts estimated that many hundreds of thousands of people were infected.
Many health experts have criticised the government’s slow response to the crisis, the low level of testing for the virus and the poor provision of intensive care beds, ventilators and protective equipment.
In London, buses began introducing stricter measures to protect drivers and other staff from possible infection with the coronavirus on Wednesday, following the death of at least nine drivers in the city.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan said the city would introduce measures including protective screens for drivers, enhanced cleaning, restricting passengers to boarding only through middle doors and increasing social distancing.
The nine drivers were among 14 London transport staff who died after becoming infected with coronavirus.
Trade union Unite, which represents 20,000 London bus staff, said the new measures would “reduce the risk” but called for more protection.
Many Londoners are working from home or not working during Britain’s near-lockdown to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
But others, including construction workers, are using the city’s reduced transport service to commute to work, meaning some buses and underground trains are still crowded.
