Osagie Ehanire, minister
of health, says everyone that had contact with the Italian who imported
COVID-19 better known as coronavirus into Lagos is being traced.
Ehanire said passengers
on the same flight with the Italian are being traced as well as those who had
contact with him elsewhere.
The Italian was confirmed
to have the virus on Friday morning — about two days after he arrived in the
country.
He returned from Milan,
Italy, which has the highest rate of the infection in Europe.
Ehanire said the relevant
authorities are working to find out where he has been to and whoever he came in
contact with since he arrived in Nigeria.
“We have started working
to identify all the contacts made by the patient since he entered Nigeria, even
those with him on the aircraft,” the minister said.
“We are working to find
out where this gentleman was, where he sat, those who sat around him and set up
a monitoring team for all the passengers and crew members of that flight in
order to get information and monitor their state of health.
“We will advise anyone
who has any symptoms to report and be monitored and be checked.”
HOW DID THE ITALIAN
ESCAPE AIRPORT SCREENING?
Ehanire said no symptom
was identified in the victim upon arrival at Lagos airport because symptoms in
some cases do not manifest until a few days after infection.
“So, he walked through
the screening with no symptoms,” he said.
“By the time he got to
his house, I think a day or two after, he started to feel unwell and, wisely
enough, went to a hospital and there the doctors examined him.
“So, it is not that it is
a failure of screening. The screening went very well. The information I have
this very morning is that he is stable, so all people will not be equally
severe.”
The minister said Nigeria
does not quarantine passengers arriving from abroad unless they are suspected
to have the disease.
He said the country only
keeps in touch with any passenger that has arrived from countries with a high
record of the infection.
He said: “WHO advises
that there is no need to put every single traveller into quarantine. There are
some other countries who choose to do differently, but we followed the
guideline of the WHO which states that you screen all persons who are entering
your country and check their travel history.
“If they are coming from
a country with a high record of coronavirus, invite them for further
questioning, give them a phone number to call you and get their phone number.
“And advise them in the
interest of their own family and friends to stay in self isolation for 14 days
and report any symptoms immediately. We also call you to find out how you are.”
He added that besides the
Italian not showing “very serious” symptoms, “as far as statistics are
concerned, up to 97 percent of people who are known to have coronavirus do
recover”.
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pls nigeria is not iran ,deny something today amit it tomorrow ,lets be straight forward , the virus have come to stay ,the issue now is how to manage it ,because this virus did not know christian or muslim,it did not know fulani or or islamic terrorist ,it did not know kidnaper or arm robber, it did not know pastor or mallam ,it did not know north or south, it did not know big or small , it did not know rich or poor,it knows nothing like position,but we should remember that JEHOVAH protects the lowly in times of crisis
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