Raymond Dokpesi Jnr., chairman of DAAR Communications, has tested positive for coronavirus.
He disclosed this in a short message to his staff in Abuja, AIT, a subsidiary of DAAR Communications, reported Monday evening.
A senior AIT official also confirmed the report, adding that Mr Dokpesi’s wife and children tested negative for the infection.
The younger Dokpesi was said to have been on self-quarantine for about a week, during which he began to show symptoms of malaria, nausea and then cough.
He reportedly contacted the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, whose tests showed he had contracted the virus.
It is unclear how Mr Dokpesi got the virus, but AIT said he has not had a recent travel history.
“I got a call this morning confirming the result is COVID-19 positive. I am leaving now to the Gwagwalada Isolation Centre for treatment and hope to be back in two weeks,” AIT quoted him as saying.
“Many of you may have interacted with me during our various meetings and I would advise you to get tested as soon as possible,” his message read.
Mr Dokpesi joins the big names that have contracted the deadly virus that has affected over 1200 Nigerians, of which 239 persons have recovered and 40 have died.
Behind the quartet of Mauritius (89%), Senegal (45%), South Africa (34%) and Egypt (26%), Nigeria’s 19% recovery rate is the fifth highest in Africa and the 15th in the world, according to StatiSense.
Also, analysis showed that Nigeria’s ratio of confirmed cases to death recorded is 3.1 per cent. This is the 6th lowest among the 10 worst-hit African countries.
