Apparently to avoid the spread of the deadly coronavirus, the Lagos State government has directed all returning travellers from China, and those exposed to travellers from that country, to observe self-quarantine for 14 days on arrival in Lagos.
The government has also dismissed reports that a case of novel Coronavirus has been recorded in the state, noting that the traveller from China suspected of being infected, has no sign of the virus.
The epidemic has so far killed 305 persons, infected at least 14,628 persons and has now spread to 28 nations with case fatality rate placed at 2.2 per cent.
In an advisory issued at the week end by the Commissioner for Health Prof. Akin Abayomi, the state government said the unsupervised self-quarantine in Lagos is the first step in containing the virus in the state.
Abayomi said: “Self-quarantine is a public health strategy used to separate and isolate individuals who may have been exposed to a communicable disease. This will help us protect individuals who may have been exposed and the general public.
“During unsupervised self-quarantine, we expect persons concerned to respond to the state advice and act like responsible citizens. You are required to restrict your movement to your home, monitor yourself closely, report any symptoms that may develop to the Ministry of Health on the contact numbers provided and engage in good personal hygiene.”
The commissioner explained that persons observing self-quarantine must stay at home during the period and must avoid workplace, minimise contact with family members, ensure no contact with visitors, refrain from attending or going to public or social functions and must not ride or fly in any mode of public transportation.
“You must monitor yourself closely and diligently during the self-quarantine period to identify if you develop symptoms including, but not limited, to headache, cough, sore throat, fever, chest pain, chills, shortness of breath, breathing difficulties and pneumonia,” he added.
Abayomi stressed the need for citizens observing self-quarantine who develop any of the aforementioned symptoms to immediately contact the Ministry of Health on 08023169485, 08033565529 and 08052817243 for further instructions.
“Novel Corona Virus Infection has an incubation period of five to 14 days. This means if you have been in China or any other country that is now experiencing Coronavirus transmission from person to person, you may become unwell after a period of five to 14 days of your return. If you feel unwell or develop symptoms, immediately contact the Ministry of Health on the numbers provided to communicate how you are feeling,” he said.
The commissioner who also dismissed misinformation making the rounds, especially on the social media that a case of novel Coronavirus has been recorded in the state, said Lagos State had no suspected or confirmed cases of Coronavirus infection.
He urged citizens to disregard the misinformation as well as any other information about the virus that did not emanate from his office, the state Ministry of Health, Federal Ministry of Health or the National Centre for Disease Control.
“I would like to reassure Lagosians that our vigilance levels are very high and we are putting more measures in place to safeguard the state. Through our strategic initiatives with federal authorities, we are putting higher levels of surveillance into effect at all international airports in Nigeria, including Lagos, to ensure that we minimise the threat of entry of any cases of Coronavirus,” Abayomi stated.
Countries so far affected by Coronavirus are Japan, Thailand, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Germany, Macau, Australia, Hong Kong, United States, France, Vietnam, Canada, UAE, Italy, Russia, Cambodia, Finland, India, Nepal, Cambodia, Finland, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Phillipine which has had one fatality, and of course China, which has had 304 deaths as at Sunday.