By Chioma Obinna
The outbreak of Coronavirus is wreaking havoc worldwide. No one knows where the next outbreak would happen. From the best scientist in the world to the least person, everybody is questioning where and how a virus as deadly as this appeared from.
While some religious persons said it was sent from the pit of hell, researchers worldwide are battling to understand the virus.
The situation is so bad that some countries like El Salvador are now banning visitors from affected countries. Salvadoran citizens, for instance, arriving from those countries face 30-day quarantine.
According to The Worldometer Coronavirus live update counter, the total number of active COVID-19 cases as at 5.30 pm on Friday, February 28, 2020, was 84,077 in 52 countries with a total of 2,876 (7 percent) deaths.
7 percent of deaths Of this number 36,241 (82 percent) are in mild condition, while 8,087 are serious or critical.
Last Friday alone, 327 new cases and 44 new deaths had occurred in China which, overall, had 78,832 cases with a total of 2,788 deaths.
According to the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC, Coronaviruses are a group of viruses that cause respiratory tract illnesses, but can sometimes be more serious, particularly for infants, the elderly and patients with weak or compromised immune systems.
Unfortunately, recent happenings have shown that the incubation period may be longer than 14 days.
Findings showed that it may be up to 30 days in some cases.
There are fears that if China and other Asian countries where resources were deployed could not contain the outbreak, what would be the fate of countries with strained health system.
Lassa fever
In Nigeria, government officials are still battling to contain the outbreak of Lassa fever.
It is no longer news that a lot of trade travel exists between Nigeria and China.
Before now, a lot of concerns had also been raised that the deadly virus may find its way into the country just like Ebola in 2014 when the late Patrick Sawyer imported it into Nigeria.
Sadly after more than 11 suspected cases tested negative, Nigeria joined the league of countries that have recorded a case of the virus.
It also became the first country in Sub-Saharan Africa to be affected.
The index case was said to be a consultant with Lafarge Cement Company, Ewekoro, Ogun State.
He arrived in Nigeria on February 25, 2020, from Milan, Italy for a brief business visit.
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The World Health Organisation, said it would be scaling up preparedness in 13 priority Africa countries including Nigeria, Uganda, Ivory Coast, Algeria, Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, South Africa, Zambia, and Tanzania.
Presently, Nigeria is among the countries that have issued travel advisory, warning citizens to delay traveling to China.
During a tour of the points by the Minister of Health, Osagie Ehabnire, Sunday Vanguard observed that adequate measures were not put in place.
During the visit to the Port Health Services the place was observed to have only one doctor.
There was no doctor at the point of entry at Apapa Sea Port.
Only one doctor
The Director of Port Health Services, Dr. Morenike Alex-Okoh while fielding questions from reporters explained that the Port Health Services have many health workers but lack medical doctors.
“There is a service-wide shortage of personnel and probably that is what is showing up there. The public health emergency contingency plan has provision for such capacity personnel which is what the minister has spoken about and that is why we are collaborating with the Lagos State Government and federal institutions to have such capacity.
“We already have people who have been sent to us from Lagos State University Teaching Hospital and Lagos University Teaching Hospital. We are looking forward to more collaboration.’’
Also speaking during the visit, Regional Manager South West, Airport Manager, Ms. Victoria Shin Aba, disclosed that a committee was activated immediately the coronavirus issue came up.
Aba, who explained that the committee had also agreed that all passengers coming into the country should fill a self-reporting form to be dropped at port health on arrival, lamented that some of the airlines do not comply with the directive.
Airlines
“The next step we are going to take is that we have instructed them to go to the foot of the aircraft and ensure that the passengers have the form, and those that don’t have should be given inside the
aircraft and be filled before they come down,” she added.
On the issues of VIPs not using the arrival, Aba said they have written to the Federal Ministry of External Affairs, demanding that VIPs should be made to use arrival points for screening purposes”
Continuing, the Airport Manager said: “Going forward, we will ensure that any passenger that doesn’t fill the form would not come out of the aircraft.
“Passengers would indicate in the forms all the places they have gone to. If the person has a high temperature or we suspect anything, there will be a secondary screening.
“There is also address and phone numbers on the form to track the passengers during the 12-Day self-quarantine period. Lagos State is doing that. We have a centre where all these things are being looked into.”
However, Sunday Vanguard spoke to some passengers, who claimed ignorant of any form, adding that they were not given by the airlines.
Gaps identified
As at the time of filing this report, efforts by Sunday Vanguard to get the Director Port Health Services, Dr. Morenike Alex-Okoh and the Minister of Health on the update of the gaps identified during the visit proved abortive as text messages, WhatsApp messages and calls were not responded to.
However, the Director-General of Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, Chikwe Ihekweazu, maintained that the government of Nigeria has invested resources in improving infectious disease surveillance and response capacity.
Ihekweazu in a chat with Sunday Vanguard also expressed worry that with a large population, an outbreak in Nigeria could have global health security implications.
“Nigeria was one of the first countries to recognise the risk and started planning the response for COVID-19. In the last one month, NCDC has conducted rapid assessments of potential treatment centres. Within one month of the confirmation of the first case in China, diagnostic capacity was established at the NCDC National Reference Laboratory in Abuja on February 1, 2020.”
However, the question on the minds of health watchers is that if the country had increased screening at the airport as claimed by the federal government, why was the index case not detected at the point of entry?
Defending the officials at the airport, the Minister of Health, at a press conference in Abuja, explained that it was not a failure of screening, adding that most people who are infected with Coronavirus, may experience only mild illness and recover easily.
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