Nigerian govt probes increasing prices of protective apparel amid coronavirus outbreak

Nigeria confirmed its first case of coronavirus on Friday and since then the demand for products like hand sanitizers and face mask has spiked. The increasing demand has led to an increase in the price of these products as well, forcing the Nigerian government to step in. A government official confirmed that investigation into the same has begun after reports of businesses increasing prices of sanitizing gels and hygienic masks during the emerging period of coronavirus in the West Africa region, according to Premium Times.

The suppliers and retailers were warned by the government against "using the excuse of coronavirus cases in Nigeria to inflate protective apparel prices."

In a memo issued Saturday, the Federal Competition & Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) said such practice during a national public health concern violates both moral codes and extant law.

Nigerian authorities have contacted around 100 people who may have been exposed to an Italian man who is the country's first coronavirus patient, a Lagos state official said on Sunday, in a bid to stop an outbreak in Africa's most populous country. The case, the first in sub-Saharan Africa, has prompted fears the virus could spread quickly in Lagos.

President Muhammadu Buhari's spokesman, in a statement issued late on Sunday, called for calm. "President Buhari urges Nigerians not to panic about the news of this first case of Covid-19 in our country, as undue alarm would do us more harm than good," said the statement.