From Moses Emorinken, Abuja
Nigeria on Monday recorded its second death from the dreaded Coronavirus (COVID-19). The confirmed cases stood at 131 last night.
Eighty-one are in Lagos; 25 in FCT; eight in Oyo; three each in Kaduna and Ogun; two each in Bauchi, Edo, Osun and Enugu and one each in Benue, Ekiti and Rivers states.
The fatality was recorded over the weekend in the person of a patient who had underlying illness. However, till date, three (3) persons have been discharged from successful treatment.
Health Minister Dr. Osagie Ehanire, who broke the news at yesterday’s Presidential Task Force on the Control of COVID-19 in Abuja, said that majority of those infected with the disease are persons who came from overseas and others have been traced as close contacts of such returnees.
He said: “We have intensified contact tracing and our strategy remains to promptly detect cases, isolate them and follow up with contacts, isolate and treat, in order to reduce the spread of infection.
“The Federal Ministry of Health is working closely with states and the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, to review response activities and to institute measures to protect the health and wellbeing of Nigerians while the NCDC- led multi-sectoral Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) continues to coordinate national response activities.
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“The NCDC has expanded its capacity by engaging hundreds of ad-hoc staff to support various areas of response including the call centers, contact tracing and follow-up of persons of interest.
“On the order of His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari, all retired but essential and able staff are to be recalled to service at this crucial period.
“In addition, training is being conducted for medical personnel to support overall preparedness and response activities to prevent the virus from spreading to other states. These trainings will also benefit medical personnel from the armed forces, paramilitary, security and intelligence agencies.”
According to him, the President has directed that government stadia, pilgrims camps and other facilities be converted to isolation centers and makeshift hospitals for use as and when the situation so demands.
He said: “We are also working hard to open-up as many testing sites as possible. With new additions to the case definition, persons with fever and either cough, difficulty breathing or shortness of breath in an area of medium or high prevalence of COVID-19, can test for the disease.
“Importantly, there are no Rapid Diagnostic Tests available that have been WHO validated, because they often give unreliable results. Unless you have been tested in one of the six molecular laboratories for COVID-19 in Nigeria, your results are most likely useless.
“If you think you fit the case definition of a suspect case, please call the NCDC or your State hotline for immediate testing. This is the only way to ensure you get suitable treatment.”
The minister said precautionary measures were also being taken to protect the seaports after closing the train stations, land borders and international airports.
Ehanire said: “Only ships that have been at sea for more than 14 days can dock at our ports after crew members have been confirmed to be healthy and negative for COVID-19.
“An exception to the 14-day restriction, are vessels carrying oil and gas products, where human interphase between crew and shore is absent or insignificant.
“The Federal Government has announced means of mitigating the effects of these lockdowns, including provision of relief materials and other financial policies.
“Self-isolate for 14 days if you have returned to the country in the last 14 days. If during self-isolation you develop symptoms like cough, fever, shortness of breath (or difficulty in breathing), call the NCDC Connect Centre immediately on 080097000010.”
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