Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has advised President Muhammadu Buhari to stop all flights from countries facing the Coronavirus outbreak. Atiku, who was the Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the last election, said Nigeria should fight the disease the same way it was able to tackle the outbreak of Ebola in 2014.
Atiku said in a statement yesterday that since Buhari had been able to shut land borders to protect the economy, it would not be too difficult to stop flights from countries facing the coronavirus scourge.
Atiku said: “Nigeria needs firm and decisive actions to prevent an escalation of the scourge. 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.
The PDP chieftain spoke as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Administration placed nine foreigners, mainly Chinese, who arrived Nigeria through the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on self-isolation for 14 days and report symptoms including, respiratory track disease, severe fever, cough and sneezing consistent with Coronavirus to the health authorities.
The Director, FCT Primary Health Care, Dr. Josephine Okechukwu, while speaking on the readiness of the FCT health authorities to tackle Coronavirus said the foreigners voluntarily offered to be in self-isolation in their homes for two weeks, having arrived from one of the countries mainly afflicted by the scourge, which has already affected 70,000 people globally out of which 2,000 have died. Okechukwu, however, allayed fears of an outbreak in the FCT.
She said: “There is no identified case of Coronavirus in the FCT. We are screening all the passengers coming from some of these high risk countries by taking their temperature. What we also do is that if we have suspected cases from some of the foreign visitors, we advise them to stay in their homes for 14 days and monitor the signs associated with the disease. We have about nine Chinese that went into self-isolation, as it is simply impossible for us to quarantine every suspected case.”
She added that although the territory was yet to record any case of Coronavirus, proactive preparations had been stepped up to curtail the disease. She added that about 300 health care workers mainly doctors, nurses and laboratory scientists from the tertiary, secondary health facilities were last week trained in collaboration with the World Health Organisation (WHO), on Coronavirus surveillance.
She said the FCTA had created Coronavirus isolation units at the National Hospital and University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, Gwagwalada for suspected victims. However, she stated that as the reserved facilities, made up of two beds each, were deemed to be grossly insufficient, the health authority has initiated talks with the FCT Permanent Secretary, Mr. Chinyeka Ohaa, on the feasibility of acquiring a bigger accommodation.
Meanwhile, in Edo State, government has deployed health officials in Benin Airport and all the motor parks in the state to screen travelers coming into the state. The Deputy Governor, Hon. Philip Shaibu, said at a meeting with stakeholders in the health sector and the representative of the World Health Organisation (WHO), at Government House, in Benin City that the state government decided to start screening from all the entry points into the state to prevent any spread of the disease to Edo.
According to him, the Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital is going to be a centre for screening of any suspected cases of Coronavirus. In his remarks, the Chief Medical Director of Irrua Specialist Hospital, Prof. Sylvanus Okogbeni, said the hospital was capable of carrying out diagnosis. The State Coordinator of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Mrs. Faith Ireye, said the manifest of the airline boarded by the Italian man should be made available to the Edo State government, adding that Italy is the second home of Edo people.
In Benue State, the Governor, Dr. Samuel Ortom, has set up Emergency Response Committee, headed by the state Commissioner for Health and Human Services, Dr. Sunday Ongbabor. Other members of the committee include Dr. Samuel Ngise, Secretary; Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Hon. Ngunan Addingi; Commissioner for Water Resources and Environment, Mr. Dondo Ahire, as well as Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Dr. Timothy Ijir. Ortom also directed that the surveillance on Coronavirus be stepped up in the 23 local government areas of the state. Already, a treatment centre has been established at the Benue State University Teaching Hospital and a location identified to be used as quarantine unit in the event of any outbreak of the disease.
The 43 suspected coronavirus cases that were isolated for 14 days in Plateau State have tested negative.
Plateau State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Nimkong Larndam, said there was no confirmed case of coronavirus in the state. He said: “We have four Chinese miners who just returned from holidays in China; since they came from another country that is heavily infected with the virus, they could be suspected to have the virus. But the Chinese were screened in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; they were also screened in Abuja airport, and in those screenings they were proved negative.
“Even though the suspects were not positive, such people are supposed to be isolated for 14 days. So we have isolated them between now and 11th of March. It is not only the four Chinese that we had to isolate; all the people that had contacts with the Chinese on their return to Wase had to be fished and isolated too.”
In a related development, the United States Centre for Disease Control (CDC) has warned that facial hair can interfere with face masks recommended for use against Coronavirus, otherwise known as COVID-19. The CDC has come up with an infographic, which displays assorted styles of beards, and showing the ones that are compatible with masks and respirators. Health officials said some types of facial hair can keep the exhalation valve from working properly.
Styles such as side whiskers (aka “Saddam”), handlebar mustaches (aka “Stalin”), and several others are okay, but styles such as mutton chops and full beards are not recommended. Things like goatees and villain mustache (aka “Hitler”) are okay, with caution. The main idea is that the hair should not cross the respirator sealing surface
