• FG, Lagos race to find more contacts
• Italian patient isolated, in stable condition
• Lagos residents rush for masks, sanitizers
• Cement company visited by Italian shut down
• Governors Forum call for calm

Twenty eight people were yesterday identified and quarantined in Ogun State in connection with the Italian who was confirmed with symptoms of the (COVID–19) in Lagos on Thursday, Governor Dapo Abiodun, said yesterday in Abeokuta.

The Italian who is a consultant to Lafarge Africa PLC, had visited Lafarge Cement Factory in Ewekoro, Ogun State, on Tuesday. The man who works in Nigeria, returned from Milan, Italy to Lagos on February 25.

Governor Abiodun who gave an update after the state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Tomi Coker, had addressed journalists earlier yesterday, said the Italian had arrived from Lagos on Tuesday, but developed a fever and was treated at the clinic located within the cement factory.

He explained that the Italian rushed to Lagos on Wednesday when his case grew worse and it was later confirmed that he had contacted Coronavirus.

Abiodun said the cement company had identified 28 contacts with the man. According to him, those contacts have been quarantined.

The governor said the factory had been locked down, while two of its guest houses have been turned into isolation centres where those contacts are being examined. He warned members of the public against panic, saying,

We are on top of the situation.
The governor disclosed that 20 surveillance centres had been created across the 20 local government areas in the state to monitor spread of the virus. He disclosed that Ogun and Lagos states would work jointly to upgrade the isolation facility at the Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital (OOUTH), Sagamu into a bio – security and containment centre to combat the deadly virus.

The particular company in question has been practically shut down and they have set up two isolation centres within the premises. They have identified all those that have been in contact with this index totaling about 28. All those 28 people have been quarantined. They are looking and interviewing those contacts to find out who they might also have been in contact with so that they can ensure that those people are also quarantined.

On our part in Ogun State, we are not leaving any stone unturned. We have distributed a lot of items all the way to our local government areas. We have given out protective equipment and protective care and we have stepped up the advocacy,

he said.

The Italian national had tested positive at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi Araba, from where he was taken to the Infectious Diseases Hospital (IDH), Yaba. The Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Professor Akin Abayomi, also told journalists in Lagos yesterday that the man came into Lagos from Milan, Italy, en route Istanbul on a Turkish airline on Monday, February 25 and did not exhibit any symptom.

Abayomi said the Italian slept over at a hotel in Lagos, from where he left for Ogun State, where he lodged in an accommodation provided by his employers.

Nigeria’s index case third in Africa since outbreak The discovery made Nigeria the third African country to confirm presence of an index case of the disease. Algeria had confirmed its first case on Wednesday while Egypt reported Africa’s first COVID-19 case earlier this month.

The World Health Organization has upgraded the global risk from the coronavirus to “very high”. Stock markets across the globe are suffering their worst week since 2008.

Italian stable, with no serious symptoms

The Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, said the Italian was being managed by the Infectious Diseases Hospital, Yaba, Lagos and was clinically stable, with no serious symptoms.

The Federal Ministry of Health has in the meantime, commenced measures to curtail spread of the disease.

The government said it had commenced tracing of people who had contact with the Italian and heightened screening at airports and other international points of entry in the country. It has also activated its National Emergency Operations Centre.

Dr. Ehanire said government had been strengthening preparedness capacity since the confirmation of the first cases in China would use all available resources to respond to the case.

He said the federal government through the ministry was also taking measures to ensure that the outbreak in Nigeria was controlled and contained quickly. He said the multi-sectoral Coronavirus Preparedness Group led by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) had immediately activated its National Emergency Operations Centre and would work closely with Lagos State health authorities to respond to the case and implement firm control measures.

Briefing newsmen yesterday in Abuja, he said the federal government had commenced contact tracing right from the aircraft, the patient flew, and the hotel he stayed, among others.

He said:

We have been in touch with the aircraft authorities to find out who his seat mates were and how many people have possibly been infected. We will do everything possible and use every resource to limit and contain this virus so it doesn’t spread.

He said the federal government had released N620 million to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC ) and N71 million to the Port Health services of the Federal Ministry of Health as the agencies requested to prepare the country against the virus.

He added that the federal government has increased reagents for testing, strengthened four laboratories for the disease and made supplies like protection equipment and face masks available.

The Minister said that the World Health Organsiation (WHO), Africa Centre for Disease Control (ACDC), West Africa Health Organisation (WAHO) and other partners were providing support to Nigeria against the virus.

Lagos salvaging situation – Gov
The Lagos State government said it was already salvaging the situation, with Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu disclosing he had activated the State Emergency Operations Centre to respond to the case and implement firm control measures.

Addressing a news conference yesterday, Sanwo-Olu said his administration, in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health and other relevant stakeholders, were doing everything possible to ensure the successful management of the patient, who according to him, was in stable condition.

He urged residents of the state not to panic, advising them to go about their normal daily activities while maintaining a high level of personal and environmental hygiene.

Sanwo-Olu said that the government was actively tracing and monitoring all the people the patient had contact with – right from those who shared seats with him on the flight to Lagos, to the hotel where he slept before he left for Ogun State and further on. He also disclosed that the entire Corona Incident Management plan had been fully activated, while all relevant authorities and stakeholders in the country had been put on the alert.

We will continue to share information on a case-by-case basis. We want to assure our citizens that everything that we are doing all that needs to be done, and we will continue to have dialogue and support from the Federal Ministry of Health. We are hoping that we can quickly put this behind us,

he said.

Panic as Lagos residents rush for face masks, sanitizers But many Lagos residents couldn’t wait for pharmacies and supermarkets to open yesterday as they rushed for face masks and sanitizers in their bid to avoid contacting the disease.

At the infectious diseases centre inside the Mainland Hospital, Yaba, the situation seemed calm. Health workers and patients went about their daily routine. But our reporter noticed that almost everybody at the health facility was wearing a face mask and others covered their mouth and nose with handkerchiefs.

The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Mainland Hospital, Dr. Abimbola Bowale, however told Daily Trust Saturday that it was a usual thing for the health workers and patients at the facility to wear mask as the hospital traditionally handles infectious diseases like tuberculosis.

Halt flights to, from infected countries – Atiku
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has said Nigeria needs national resolve and unity to defeat the Conoravirus. Atiku, in a statement yesterday through his media office, said he would want to offer his patriotic counsel to the government on how best to tackle the issue. He said Nigeria needed firm and decisive actions to prevent escalation of the virus.

We must call upon our experience with the wild Ebola virus, of which we were the first nation in the world to defeat that scourge in 2014. How did Nigeria do it? We achieved it by showing unprecedented unity. The federal government of the day, worked closely with the Lagos and Rivers State governments.

I strongly counsel that any tendency to blame and point fighters must be temporarily, if not permanently, suspended. If fingers must be pointed, it must be to solutions.

Recently, we closed our borders as an act against economic sabotage. Perhaps now is the time to temporarily halt flights to and from any nation with a prevalence of this scourge. It is more important to secure human lives, than to secure an economy. We also need to invest in early detection facilities at our airports.

Medical experts react
The President of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) Dr. Francis Adedayo Faduyile said it was unfortunate that a coronavirus case had been recorded in Nigeria but that it was commendable that the federal government was able to pick the case and isolate the patient.

He said medical doctors were happy that government had commenced contact tracing. However, he said the country needs to improve on laboratory responsiveness as well as Personal Protective Equipment (PPE ) for doctors and other health workers following the outbreak of the disease in the country.

The Chief Epidemiologist of the Federation, Dr Godwin Ntadom, said the country anticipated the outbreak and was now taking precautionary moves to check further spread.

A team has already started tracing all the people that came in the same flight with the patient , people he works with and others,

he added.

Dr. Ifeanyichukwu Casmir, national publicity secretary of the Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria (ALMSN) said screening for coronavirus at the airports in the country was not being properly done. He said if the country had up scaled screening for the virus , the index case would have been detected at the airport when he arrived the country.

We are well equipped to handle coronavirus – Minister
The Federal Government has assured Nigerians that it is well-equipped to detect and handle case or cases of coronavirus. Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed stated this during a press briefing on response to the Coronavirus.

He appealed to Nigerians not to panic, adding, “We know that at times like this, purveyors of fake news and disinformation usually ramp up their acts. We are therefore urging Nigerians not to fall for the antics of purveyors of fakes news and disinformation”.

Nigerian footballer tests positive in Italy, as spread risk upgraded to highest level A Nigerian footballer based in Italy, Paul Akpan Udoh, is reported to have tested positive for coronavirus. Udon, a 22-year-old who plays for Pianese in the Italian Serie C, was said to be diagnosed on Thursday and has been quarantined.

He is believed to be the first footballer in Europe to be infected with the coronavirus. A statement from the Tuscany region said the 22-year-old man had symptoms in a hotel in Alessandria, where he was training with the team ahead of Sunday’s game.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) has upgraded the global risk of the coronavirus outbreak to “very high” – its top level of risk assessment. But the UN body said there was still a chance of containing the virus if its chain of transmission were broken. WHO’s head, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, also said fear and misinformation were the biggest challenges to overcome. More than 50 countries have now reported cases of coronavirus.

States brace up
The Nasarawa State government has set up a team of a medical response team to respond to a possible outbreak of Corona Virus Disease. The State’s Commissioner for Health, Pharm. Ahmed Yahaya said the response team are well trained medical personnel drawn from the Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital (DASH), Lafia and the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) , Keffi. He said isolation centres set up at the two hospitals were equipped with facilities from the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).

The Rivers State government said it has strengthened surveillance at the Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa, following the first confirmed case of coronavirus in Lagos. Director, Planning, Research and Statistics of the Ministry of Health, Dr. Chinwe Atata, who stated this yesterday during a press briefing held at the Public Health Emergency Operational Centre of the ministry, said the state has not recorded any case. She said the ministry has beefed up its surveillance and would place all symptomatic travelers coming from countries where the coronavirus had been confirmed in an isolation centre for monitoring.

The Edo State Government said it has send a team to the Benin Airport to get information on the manifest of the airline that brought the Italian man infected with coronavirus to the country to know if there were Benin bound passengers. The state’s Commissioner for Health, Patrick Okundia, who said this yesterday at a press briefing added that surveillance officers have been placed on red alert to carry out active case search in all health facilities as well as points of entry to the state. Okundia said the ministry has already commenced sensitization of staff of Benin Airport on the screening modalities of air travelers.

Source: Daily Trust

Justin Nwosu

Justin Nwosu is the founder and publisher of Flavision. His core interest is in writing unbiased news about Nigeria in particular and Africa in general. He’s a strong adherent of investigative journalism, with a bent on exposing corruption, abuse of power and societal ills.