The Lagos State Government will quarantine all Chinese returning to the state from their country to be sure they are not infected with the deadly Coronavirus.
The state Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi who addressed a press conference in Alausa, Ikeja, on Wednesday, said the state has reached an agreement with the Chinese Embassy in Nigeria to quarantine all Chinese travelling back to Lagos from their country in order to avert outbreak of disease in the State.
He noted that the government was leaving nothing to chance in its determination to prevent outbreak of the disease in the state even as he assured that government was putting adequate measures in place to deal with any possible outbreak of the disease in the state.
Abayomi disclosed that many Chinese living in Lagos had travelled back to their country to celebrate the Chinese New Year and had not returned before the outbreak of Coronavirus in their country.
According to him, many of them might be thinking of returning to Lagos for their businesses soon which might portend great risks for the state.
Abayomi stated that the state government had met with the Chinese Embassy and that they agreed to send message to their people in China to stay back until the outbreak is curtailed before returning.
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The commissioner said if some of them returned in the next few days, the state government had the permission of their Embassy to quarantine them for 14 days in their houses to see if they would present with symptom of the disease.
“We are very happy with the cooperation we are receiving from the Chinese government. We’ve had a very serious and high level discussion with the Chinese government through their embassy in Lagos, our primary concern has been the return of their citizens to Lagos in a few days’ time and we are happy to inform you that the embassy of China is also concerned about this, and they have sent out information through notifications to their citizens and companies located in Lagos that their citizens should try and remain in China until there is clarity about how this infection is going.
“However, if some of them choose to return, and we cannot restrict people, if they do return to Lagos, the instruction from the Chinese Embassy is that they should be quarantined for a period of 10 to 14 days in their houses, hostels and accommodations.”
The Commissioner further stated that officials of the Ministry of Health would meet with associations of business men in Lagos, especially those who make use of the China-Nigeria trade routes to advise them on their travels to Asian countries, particularly China and also educate them on precautionary measures against contacting the disease.
He said the state was putting measures in place to checkmate people’s entry into Lagos from outside the country, especially those coming affected countries.
He noted also that the peculiar nature of the State due to its very high dense population, makes it particularly vulnerable to outbreak and spread of infectious diseases.
“Lagos is also particularly vulnerable because of its peculiar nature; it is the largest megacity in Africa, it has a very high dense population and it has many high density residential locations and a significant number of slums and therefore it becomes particularly vulnerable to outbreak spread and it our duty to ensure that we put all strategies in place to try and prevent the entry or the spread of the virus in our communities”, the Commissioner said.
He explained that the State government recently activated an Emergency Operation Centre (EOC) which is the command and control Centre to coordinate operational information and resources for strategic management of emergencies in preparation against infectious diseases.
He stated also that citizens are being sensitized on precautionary measures against the spread of the infection as well as other infectious disease through circulation of various messages for behavioural modification.
The Lagos State Commissioner for Health disclosed that the Biosafety laboratory located at the Lagos Mainland Hospital, built to ensure effective management of infectious diseases has fully commenced operations.
