Coronavirus: Why infected Italian was not detected at Lagos airport

…Sanwo-Olu urges Lagos residents not to panic, says patient stable

…Lafarge identifies contact persons with Covid-19 victim

The Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, on Friday, gave reasons why the Italian infected with coronavirus that arrived in Nigeria on Tuesday was not detected at the Lagos international airport, his port of entry.

According to him, the disease was not detected because it was still at the incubation stage as at the time of the Italian’s arrival at the Lagos airport.

The Daily Times recalls that the Federal Ministry of Health early on Friday confirmed a Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) case in Lagos State, adding that the patient is clinically stable, with no serious symptoms, and is being managed at the Infectious Disease Hospital in Yaba, Lagos.

Ehanire explained that the Italian was able to get into the country without being detected at the airport because disease was still at the incubation stage at the time of entry.

“So, it is not that it is a failure of screening. The screening went very well. The information I have this very morning is that he is stable, so all people will not be equally severe.”

Speaking during a press briefing in Abuja, the Health minister said they are opting for 14 days self-quarantine because much information about the nature and pattern of the disease is still unknown.

He also said health agencies in Nigeria have begun contact tracing of those who might have been in contact with the Italian.

He said the Italian showed no symptoms of the disease until Wednesday which was why he presented himself to the hospital.

He has since been isolated and treatment has also commenced, the minister said.

Ehanire said Nigeria is taking the contact tracing for people who have been in contact with the unnamed Italian seriously and would be contacting those in the same flight as the Italian.

“We have started working to identify all the contacts made by the patient since he entered Nigeria, even those with him on the aircraft.

“We are working to find out where this gentleman was, where he sat, those who sat around him and set up a monitoring team for all the passengers and crew members of that flight in order to get information and monitor their state of health.

“We will advise anyone who has any symptoms to report and be monitored and be checked,” he said.

Ehanire advised that to contain an outbreak in the country, Nigerians should avoid crowded gathering, wash their hands and use hand sanitizers when needed. He also cautioned people to stay about a metre away from people coughing, sneezing or feeling feverish.

He said Nigeria will be able to provide early diagnosis and treatment to confirmed patients as it is already putting in place mechanisms to do so.

Ehanire said that the government is working hard to ensure that the virus is curtailed.

He assured Nigerians of the preparedness of the government to tackle the viral disease, adding that there is no reason for panic.

“The Federal Ministry of Health, through Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, will continue to provide updates and will initiate all measures required to prevent the spread of any outbreak in Nigeria.

“The multi-sectoral Coronavirus Preparedness Group led by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has immediately activated its national Emergency Operations Centre and will work closely with Lagos State Health authorities to respond to this case and implement firm control measures.

“I wish to assure all Nigerians that have we have been beefing up our preparedness capabilities since the first confirmation of cases in China, and we will use all the resources made available by the government to respond to this case”, Enahire said.

Earlier speaking, Chikwe Ihekweazu, director-general of NCDC, stated that Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has deployed its rapid response teams in Lagos State and other parts of the country to manage the situation adequately.

Ihekweazu said health workers must remain on high alert and collaborate to tackle the menace.

“The NCDC has established a multi-sectoral coronavirus preparedness group to an Emergency Operations Centre (EOC), to lead response activities.

“The NCDC will continue to keep Nigerians informed. It is important for them to be focused on facts and not fear.

“Nigerians should protect themselves by staying calm, drink lots of water,” he added.

Meanwhile, Lagos State Government has raised its level of response to Coronavirus (COVID-19) incident, following a reported case of a patient diagnosed with the infectious viral disease in the State in the early hours of Friday.

This is coming just as the Chief Incident Commander and the State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, allayed fears of residents on spread of the virus.

The Governor also offered more information on how the patient was identified and efforts currently being made to prevent the spread of the virus.

The patient, Sanwo-Olu said, is an Ogun State-based expatriate who flew into Lagos from Milan in Italy via Istanbul, Turkey last Monday evening.

The Governor said the patient, whose name was not disclosed, remained in stable condition at the bio-security facility in Yaba, Lagos Mainland, where he is being isolated.

It was gathered that the patient, although, tested positive to COVID-19 virus, is yet to show any respiratory symptoms at press time. He complained of fever and body pain, which prompted his transfer from Ogun State to Lagos for advanced medical investigation.

Sanwo-Olu said a number of persons, who had physical contact with the patient before the virus was diagnosed, are being traced, while others are currently being examined for possible symptoms.

The Governor shared these details during a first press conference held on Friday at the State House in Marina to brief the public on the matter.

Top State officials at the conference included Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Gbenga Omotoso, Commissioner for Agriculture, Hon. Gbolahan Lawal, Secretary to the State Government, Mrs. Folashade Jaji and Director General of Lagos State Safety Commission, Mr. Lanre Mojola.

Sanwo-Olu said there should be no cause for panic among Nigerians over the reported COVID-19 incident, stressing that measures had been set in motion by the State and Federal governments to contain the spread of the virus across the country.

He particularly allayed the fear of Lagos residents, saying the two bio-security facilities in the state had the capability to contain the virus.

He said: “At 10pm on Thursday, I got a call from the Commissioner of Health, who reported possible identification of patient with coronavirus in Ogun State.

Immediately, we triggered all levels of bio-security responses and containment facilities. After series of laboratory examination, the patient was confirmed to have tested positive to the virus in early hours of today (Friday) and we immediately alerted the federal authorities, including the President and everybody who needs to be aware.

We are in constant touch with the company where the patient was engaged. The management and personnel of the company have been cooperative.

“Health workers and emergency officials are on the field to track all persons that had physical contacts and interaction with the patient. Our bio-security facilities have been fortified to continue any form of test and contain any other potential case.

We are in constant touch with the Federal Ministry of Health to harmonise our response to the incident. For us in Lagos, we are doing anything that needs to be done. The patient is stable and every health intervention required is currently being given to him.”

On how the patient scaled through health screening at the Lagos airport without being detected, Sanwo-Olu said investigation showed the virus did not manifest in the patient at the time he passed through the airport.

The incident, he said, prompted the Government to immediately trigger advanced end-to-end screening for passengers flying into Nigeria, especially from high-risk countries.

The Governor said there would not be prohibition of public gatherings and regular activities in Lagos despite the diagnosed case of COVID-19, pointing out that such measure may give rise to needless panic among the general public.

He said the condition of the patient was not “highly contagious” at the moment, adding that the state would only ban outdoor gatherings in the case of escalation in person-to-person transmission of the virus.

He said: “It is only when there is a high level of escalation that the public can be panicky and this is when we realise that it is getting to person-to-person transmission.

As we have said, this isolated case has been contained right from the hospital where he was first admitted and the guesthouse he slept after his arrival in Nigeria.

It is when there is a person-to-person infection that we can trigger another level of isolation and curtail public events where large number of people can gather. I don’t think we have gotten to that level yet.”

Sanwo-Olu also cleared the air on why the patient was transferred to Lagos after the incident was reported in Ogun State, saying the Federal Government only established testing centres to prevent to coronavirus in states that have international airports.

Lagos, the Governor said, is the only state in the Southwest that has testing centres. He said the state was also considered based on its sophisticated bio-security facilities, which were established during the outbreak of Ebola virus.

The Health commissioner, Prof. Abayomi, explained how the diagnosis was carried out, following the patient’s complaint of fever and body pain.

He said the patient started to show signs of illness on Wednesday afternoon, after which he was presented at the Ogun State-based firm’s hospital where investigation began.

He said: “Investigation began at the hospital after the patient gave history of his trip to Nigeria. The medical personnel at the company’s hospital kept the patient in isolation overnight and contacted us at the bio-security in Lagos for assistance.

We immediately asked them to transfer the case to Lagos. The patient was brought to our high-containment in Yaba on Thursday morning.

“Immediately the patient arrived, he was put in proper isolation and appropriate tests were conducted on him. Within hours, we received signals that the laboratory tests were showing signs of positivity.

At that point, we informed the Federal Minister of Health and Governor Sanwo-Olu, who is the Chief Incident Commander in Lagos.”

The Health Commissioner said the patient was responding well under a supportive therapy, saying efforts were on to identify all persons that had physical contact with the patient to break the cycle of transmission.

He disclosed that the state remained prepared to contain potential spread of the virus, observing that Lagos had wrapped up the capacity of its containment facility to 80-bed as a result of the emergency funds released by the Governor.

Prof. Abayomi said more capabilities were being put in place by the state to deal with increase number of cases. He said aggressive public awareness campaign was going on to sensitise residents on hygiene and activities that can prevent the spread of virus.

In a related development, Lafarge Africa Plc says it has identified the persons who had direct contact with the individual who tested positive to Coronavirus in Lagos.

The company stated this in a statement on Friday by Folashade Ambrose-Medebem, Director, Communications, Public Affairs and Sustainable Development, made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

Ambrose-Medebem said that the company had equally initiated isolation, quarantine and disinfection protocol at Ewekoro plant.

“As a business, we have immediately identified the persons who had direct contact with the concerned individual.

“The individual concerned works for a vendor that provides services to Lafarge Africa Plc in Ogun State,” she stated.

Ambrose-Medebem commended the exemplary leadership of the Federal Ministry of Health, Ogun and Lagos State Governments for swiftly providing response and testing facilities.

She noted that the company was working fully with all the local authorities.

“Lafarge Africa is also working in close partnership with International SOS, our medical service provider, a leading global health company.

“Health and safety remains a core value at Lafarge Africa and we intend to leverage this strength at this critical time,” Ambrose-Medebem added.