Ailing Chinese national quarantined at Lagos Airport, no case established

Two foreign nationals, who were suspected to have contacted the Coronavirus (COVID-19) from Asia, have tested negative to the disease in Lagos State, Chief Incident Commander of the virus, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu said yesterday.

Sanwo-Olu disclosed that medical examination at the state’s bio-security facility conducted on the two patients, who were brought in from Ogun State at the weekend, did not show any signs of COVID-19 infection.

He made this known during an advocacy meeting held at the Banquet Hall in State House, Alausa with all 57 council chairmen, community health officers, representatives of Community Development Associations (CDAs), Community Development Councils (CDCs) and members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) led by the State Chairman, Tunde Balogun, attended the event.

The governor, who spoke in Yoruba dialect, noted that the condition of the Italian national, who tested positive to the virus last Friday was improving, saying the Incident Command Centre was satisfied with recovery of the infected patient.

Sanwo-Olu said the aim of the meeting with stakeholders was to engage them in propagating accurate information on the virus at the grassroots and also to effectively communicate preventive measures in the event of an outbreak.

He said, “We convened this meeting as part of proactive measures we are taking to prevent the spread of Coronavirus to our local communities. It is no more news that we are managing a case in Lagos, but the situation does not call for panic.

“One of the lessons we learnt during the outbreak of Ebola virus six years ago is that, the grassroots was adequately sensitised and prepared for the outbreak. We are bringing the lesson back this time as we are dealing with another highly contagious virus.”

Sharing more update on the case being managed, Commissioner for Health, Professor Akin Abayomi, said the government had intensified its search for persons that interacted with the isolated patient.

Abayomi disclosed that the Incident Command Centre was still investigating possible transmission of the virus, pointing out that the centre had identified all the local contacts that interacted with the patient from the airport to his destination.

Meanwhile, a sick Chinese national (names withheld) was yesterday kept under close observation at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, pending the outcome of medical tests.

He was suspected to have contacted the Coronavirus disease following several coughs, as he disembarked from an Ethiopian Airline aircraft yesterday. However, reports indicated that he was immediately separated from other passengers and after checks by Port Health officials he was scheduled to undergo other tests at the Lagos State Centre for Disease Control, but he tested negative when the result was released.