When Joyce Alali heard that sub-Saharan Africa's first case of coronavirus had been confirmed in her home city Lagos, she knew immediately what to do. The Nigerian nursing student rummaged through her possessions to find the hand sanitiser she'd used back in 2014 when West Africa's Ebola epidemic hit the bustling economic hub. "Immediately I heard about it I was astonished at first like, so finally it has gotten to Nigeria," the 25-year-old told AFP. "I took out my face mask, found my hand sanitiser -- the hand sanitiser I was using during the Ebola stuff, I'd actually abandoned it since then but I had to go and find it!" Residents began the hunt for hygiene products after waking up around the city of 20 million on Friday to news that an Italian citizen had tested positive after arriving from Milan. News of the case has stirred memories of the Ebola crisis in 2014, with many taking similar measures that were adopted during the outbreak. Hassan Hafeez, 36, had seen a surge in customers looking for hand sanitiser from his mother's stall in tightly-packed Balogun market. "All those small small ones that we used to sell for 400 naira ($1.09, one euro), I have increased my price to 600 or 700 and they are buying it! They don't want to die," Hafeez said. The prices of santiser and handwash has almost doubled due to wholesalers raising their prices overnight, capitalising on the rising demand. At offices and businesses across the financial district in Lagos, precautions were visibly widespread. At building entrances, security officials pointed infrared thermometers at approaching staff to screen for them fo high-temperatures -- a symptom of the virus. Receptionists and customer service staff greeting customers wore green face masks and clinical gloves. Sanitisers and handwash were increasingly scarce at pharmacies and stalls, as many rushed to take precautions. Yet memories of the rapid containment of Ebola -- a far more deadly disease than coronavirus -- by Nigerian authorities back in 2014 has also stirred hope that they can repeat the feat. The World Health Organization described the response by officials in Lagos to the outbreak as a "spectacular success story" and only seven people ended up dying despite fears of a much wider calamity. Wumni, a 52-year-old woman selling cold drinks from a portable cooler, was in Lagos when Ebola sparked widespread panic in, but didn't feel the same way this time. "I am worried but at the same time I am not panicking," she said. "We believe it is just one person and God-willing that person will recover and there will be no more cases." Nigeria, which sits in a tropical region close to the equator, has had to face the threat of multiple contagious diseases. An outbreak of Lassa fever, which is spread mainly through rat faeces and urine, has killed 118 people across the country since the start of the year. Experts say that Africa's most populous country is better prepared to deal disease epidemics than some of its poorer neighbours in the region. eak/del/txw