Africa’s biggest city Lagos locks down to defend against coronavirus

Africa’s biggest city Lagos locks down to defend against coronavirus

A driver's temperature is measured at a border between Abuja and the Nasarawa State on March 30, 2020, as he leaves to neighboring states after Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari called for a lockdown to limit the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus.. While Nigeria's president said food retailers and health facilities could remain open, he did not say whether people could leave their homes to buy necessities or seek care. LAGOS: Lagos, Africa's largest city of at least 20 million people, ground to a halt on Tuesday as it and the Nigerian capital Abuja entered a two-week lockdown to stop the spread of the coronavirus.. Africa's confirmed cases had climbed to at least 5,300 by Tuesday morning, with more than 170 recorded deaths, according to a Reuters tally.. In the little more than 24 hours since Nigeria President Muhammadu Buhari had announced the lockdown, coronavirus had transformed one of the world's biggest megacities, where many live in slums and eke out a living at the best of times.. Across the continent, other countries have introduced their own relief programs for people, including South Africa, Zimbabwe and Botswana.. South Africa, where a lockdown began on Friday, will be the continent's first country