Abuja, Feb 28 (IANS): Nigeria on Friday reported the first case of the new coronavirus in sub-Saharan Africa.

"The case is an Italian citizen who works in Nigeria and (had) returned from Milan to Lagos on February 25," Efe news quoted the Health Ministry as saying in a statement.

"The patient is clinically stable, with no serious symptoms."

The authorities were working to identify all the people with whom the patient had come in contact after arriving in Nigeria, the most populated African country with nearly 200 million residents.

It is the first case of COVID-19 in sub-Saharan Africa and third in the African continent after Egypt and Algeria.

The Nigerian health authorities said they had reinforced checks at the entry points into the country from January.

"The government, through the federal ministry of health, has been strengthening measures to ensure that an outbreak in Nigeria is controlled and contained quickly," said the Ministry statement.

The Nigerian senate on Thursday criticized the government for not taking enough measures to check people entering the country through airports and seaports.