By Harry Awurumibe, State House, Abuja
In a bid to arrest any outbreak of the deadly Coronavirus, now named Covid-19, currently ravaging China, the Nigerian Government has taken proactive measures including setting up three Coronavirus laboratory testing centers in the country.
The three centers located across Nigeria are in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja; Nigeria’s commercial nerve center, Lagos and the sleepy town of Irrua, Edo State.
This good news was dropped Wednesday in Abuja by the Minister of Health Osagie Ehanire while briefing State House Correspondents after the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) presided over by the Vice President Professor Yemi Osibanjo.
According to him, two tests have already been conducted and the results came out negative even as the Minister revealed that Nigeria and the rest of the African continent are Coronavirus-free.
Ehanire disclosed that Nigeria has eight days ago acquired all that is required to test the virus right here in the country.
Said he, “Can we (Nigeria) test anyone suspected of Coronavirus, Yes. For three days now we have acquired the reagents necessary to test the virus. The machines, yes we have the machines, the muscular diagnosis but we don’t have the reagents to detect it. But for Coronavirus being a new disease we don’t have it. But we have acquired it, about eight days ago and three laboratories in Nigeria can now test Coronavirus and in fact they have tested two cases already which were negative.
Lagos, Abuja and Irrua, Irrua you know is Nigeria’s Centre of Excellence where this disease and Lassa Fever, etc can be tested.
Also explaining how FG is handling the health cases, he said that the government is on top of the matter as all the nation’s Entry Points have adequately being equipped to detect the Coronavirus carriers.
“I updated Council on the Coronavirus and also the endemic Lassa Fever and state of preparedness especially at the frontlines which are the Port Health Services and the second line of defence which is the Nigeria National Center for Disease Control (NCDC). They are prepared mostly at the international airports which are the main Ports of Entries into the country. Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, and Kano.
All passengers arriving in Nigeria are screened by P- the camera that takes their temperature and also the travel history to be able to find out where the person is coming from and what risk they are carrying.
Everybody who is coming from that area of concern is given a form to fill….to call us after 14 days of the incubation period if there are any symptoms or not and if they don’t call we will call them to find out.
It is instructive to know that so far there is no case of Coronavirus in Nigeria”, the Minister concluded.
