ANKARA

 The Chief of Staff to Nigeria's president tested positive for the coronavirus, local media reported Tuesday.

The Nigerian Center for Disease Control said while Abba Kyari tested positive, President Muhammadu Buhari tested negative, according to online news outlet Vanguard.

Kyari recently visited Germany and Egypt for a meeting where he is said to have contracted the virus, according to the website.

Anyone who is suspected to have been exposed to Kyari “have been advised to self-isolate,” a presidential source anonymously told The Nation website.

Nigeria has reported one fatality from the virus, and confirmed 42 cases.

In order to curb its spread, the Nigerian Senate suspended its session for two weeks starting Tuesday.

The novel coronavirus emerged in Wuhan, China last December and has spread to at least 169 countries and territories.

The global death toll has surpassed 18,200, with some 409,000 cases confirmed, according to U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University. 

Despite the rising number of cases, most who become infected suffer only mild symptoms and recover.