After a little panic surged over many Nigerians regarding the deadly unresolved Coronavirus Virus which emancipated from Wuhan China is feared to have arrived Nigeria. It has been confirmed that Nigeria is at the moment cleared of the virus. However, Nigeria is free form of all coronavirus at least for now as two suspected cases have been given a clean bill of health as two persons who came into Nigeria from China have tested negative to coronavirus.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control has been conducting tests on travelers from China , a report by The Cable indicates that two persons who came into Nigeria from China have tested negative to coronavirus.
This was disclosed by Emeka Oguanuo, an official of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), on Saturday, February 15. The NCDC director-general, Chikwe Ihekweazu, had earlier said the centre was conducting tests on travelers from China.
On Tuesday, February 4, the NCDC boss said that despite global concern over the outbreak of coronavirus, the disease was not as deadly as the media has painted it. Recall Nigeria had witnessed in 2014 the Ebola virus which it was able to handle till there was no trace of the deadly virus and disease in Nigeria.
According to the NCDC boss, he stated this while addressing members of the House of Representatives committee on health services. He further said the Nigerian government has put in place measures to identify cases of the coronavirus, adding that airport authorities and other relevant agencies of government have intensified screening. Similarly, the Lagos government on Monday, February 3 launched an incident command system in the state to prevent an outbreak of coronavirus in the megacity.
A statement by Gboyega Akosile, spokesman to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, revealed that the health emergency structure is being set up to help with containment in the unlikely event of outbreaks of the virus in Lagos. Meanwhile, the Nigerian Senate has urged the federal ministry of aviation to ensure that all persons arriving from China, especially the Chinese citizens from Nigeria that traveled home for the Chinese Lunar New Year festivities or from any country that has a major disease outbreak, to self-isolate by staying indoors in their homes for at least two weeks before mixing up with the Nigerian public. The recommendation by the red chambers is to ensure that the viral coronavirus does not spread in the country.
