ANKARA

Some 172 Nigerian citizens have been evacuated from Kenya and Uganda on Wednesday amid the coronavirus pandemic, local media reported.

The evacuees arrived at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Nigeria’s capital Abuja, and Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, the country’s commercial capital, according to the Punch news website.

“The exercise was put together by our Mission in Nairobi, Kenya in collaboration with the Mission in Kampala, Uganda,” the website quoted Gabriel Odu, an official of the Nigerians Diaspora Commission, as saying.

He said all evacuees tested negative for the coronavirus and that they will proceed to a 14-day self-isolation mandated by the Health Ministry and Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).

As of Tuesday, the total number of COVID-19 cases in Nigeria rose to 25,694, with 590 deaths and 9,746 recoveries, according to NCDC.

Since originating in China last December, the pandemic has claimed more than 512,000 lives in 188 countries and regions.

More than 10.5 million cases have been reported worldwide, while over 5.38 million patients have recovered so far, according to figures compiled by the US' Johns Hopkins University.