ABUJA, Nigeria

The total number of health workers infected with novel coronavirus outbreak in Nigeria has reached 113, according to country's health minister on Thursday.

Around 6% of the COVID-19 cases in the country composed of healthcare professionals, with some of them working in private hospitals, Dr. Osagie Ehanirein said in a news conference in Abuja.

While the coronavirus cases approaching to 2,000 in Nigeria, total of 58 people have died from the virus in the country.

Ehanire said that as part of the fight against the epidemic, only those health personnel who are trained in treating infectious diseases can work with patients.

He stressed that many people treating coronavirus in private clinics without necessary training and necessary precautions infect themselves, and then become a source of spreading the virus to their families.

* Writing by Jeyhun Aliyev from Ankara