How Nigeria Will Stop Spread Of Coronavirus — Health Minister

Minister of State for Health, Osagie Ehanire, has explained why Nigeria was unable to detect and quarantine the Italian who tested positive at the point entry to the country.

The minister, who spoke on Friday at a press briefing, said it was not due to the failure of screening but because the virus was still at the incubation stage when the victim arrived in the country.

Following the confirmation, Ehanire gave clues on how the government plans to stop the spread of the virus beyond testing at the airport.

The victim was said to have returned from Milan, Italy to Lagos, Nigeria on the 25th of February 2020 through the Lagos airport.

He was also reported to have travelled to Ogun state and visited a hospital in Abeokuta before being brought back to Lagos.

Ehanire explained what the government was doing to ensure the virus is contained and doesn’t go beyond the first case.

The minister said Nigeria was working with the airline that brought the Italian to Lagos to get the manifest and do a contact tracing to find all passengers that were on board and also monitor them.

“We won’t assume that they will all fall sick, but we will advise anyone who has any symptoms to report and be checked.

He said restriction of international travelers is not one of the options as it could backfire, saying the country would follow the guidelines given by the World Health Organization.

“We are following the guidelines of the World Health Organizations; they are not calling for us to stop international travel. Recklessly stopping international travel will backfire on us in many ways. So, as long as you can control and contain the infection you don’t need to overreact.”

The minister also said there was no need to lock down the city of Lagos for fear of possible spread of the virus, Ehanire, advised people to limit unnecessary congregation like sporting events, concerts and avoid places where people gather in close proximity in areas affected by the virus.