The federal government on Thursday assured diplomats living within the nation that there was no need to panic over the confirmation of coronavirus in Nigeria.
Minister of health, Osagie Ehanire, while briefing diplomats and the press at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs headquarters in Abuja said this was not a time to spread fear.
He said the first case, which was confirmed on February 27, when an Italian man came into Lagos from Milan via Turkish airline and later travelled to Ogun State, “is being taken care of at the Infectious Disease Hospital, Lagos and is faring well”.
“He is doing very well and we are ready to discharge him as soon as the viral load is within acceptable limit,” he said.
Concerning the second confirmed case, a direct contact of the index case in Ogun State who had been under quarantine prior to being diagnosed with Covid-19, the minister said “he had no significant clinical symptom and was identified, following routine screening. He is also receiving care at the Infectious Disease Hospital in Lagos.”
Although most people who had contact with the index case have been quarantined, the health minister added that few are still being traced.
Preventive measures
In terms of precaution and preparedness against the virus, the government is mainly focused on surveillance at point of entry, infection prevention and control, risk communication, laboratory diagnosis, case management and coordination, he said.
“In this respect we will work closely with border control agencies like Immigration and Customs,” he said. “We are leveraging on our public health security infrastructure which has been strengthened in the past four years through the upgrade of laboratory diagnostic capacity. This upgrade is still ongoing and for which we shall always welcome support.”
He further said that Nigeria has not placed any travel bans or restrictions. He urged Nigerians to avoid travelling to “countries with high level of transmission” which he listed as “China, Japan, South Korea, Italy, and Iran.”
“Travellers from affected countries are expected to exercise self-isolation for 14 days after entering Nigeria, and if travelers from other countries have symptoms, they are to report immediately to Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC),” he said.
The minister also provided the contact information to reach NCDC anytime in the day (08097000000).
Mr Ehanire advised other countries to pay attention to screening travellers before departure “as the lack of it puts a weight on Nigeria’s resources which are scarce”.
In Africa, according to the World Health Organisation there are more than 100 confirmed cases.
Egypt has the highest number of cases with 59, followed by Algeria with 20.
Nigeria has two reported cases, Tunisia 5, Senegal 4, Morocco 3, South Africa 13, Cameroon 2, Togo 1, Burkina Faso 2, and DRC 1.
