As China isolates three cities from the rest of the world
Following the death of 17 persons infected by the recent corona virus outbreak in the city of Wuhan in China, a number of African countries have introduced airport screenings and other precautionary measures to prevent the spread of deadly virus.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) said on Wednesday that it “has heightened screening measures’’ at its points of entry and that travellers from Wuhan, the capital city of Hubei province in China, may be asked questions about “symptoms of illness and travel history’’.
Meanwhile, the commissioner of health in Lagos State, Dr. Akin Abayomi, said the government was ramping up its level of preparedness.
He asked residents not to panic as no case of the virus had been identified in the state or in any other part of Nigeria.
He said the state was in collaborating with the federal government on screening and surveillance to ensure the virus does not find its way into the cosmopolitan city.
Abayomi explained that the corona virus is a new strain that has not been previously identified in humans.
He said the viruses were primarily infections of animals that can be transmitted to humans.
“The Lagos State bio-security team in collaboration with Lagos University Teaching Hospital is currently working on building urgent capacity to identify the virus in our bio-security facility and isolation wards located at the Mainland Infectious Disease Hospital in Yaba in the event of any suspected case arriving in Lagos State.
“We are in touch with NCDC in Abuja to align our strategies. Importantly, we are also collaborating with the Federal Ports Authority at air, land and sea border posts to elevate screening and surveillance of incoming travelers,” he said
The commissioner urged citizens to adopt and practice high standard of personal and environmental hygiene including regular hand washing, covering of mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing, avoiding close contact with anyone showing symptoms of respiratory illness such as coughing and sneezing and practice good bio-security precautions with domestic and wild animals as measures against the transmission of any kind of contagious infection, nCoV inclusive.
The commissioner advised citizens travelling from South East Asia or any country where the infection had been reported or who have had contact with travelers from that region and are feeling ill to go to the nearest health facility for immediate assessment and treatment or call 08023169485, 08033565529 or 08052817243 for assistance.
Congo is implementing measures at its airports and seaports, targeting people coming from “affected countries and continents’’, the central African country’s Health Minister said on Thursday.
“The DRC does not know this virus but we are taking steps so that no case appears here,’’ Eteni Longondo said.
In Ghana, there is also enhanced surveillance at all entry points, especially the Kotoka International Airport.
Passengers from China will be administered a health questionnaire, its Ministry of Health said on Tuesday.
In Zimbabwe, the health minister, Dr. Obadiah Moyo, said the country “is on high alerts, like the rest of the world.
“We have not started screenings, but we are urging our citizens, who have been to China recently, to go for medical check-ups.”
In South Africa, the national Institute for Communicable diseases said the country “is conducting active surveillance.
It said there are no direct flights from Wuhan, China where the outbreak of the virus occurred and that “the risk of an imported case remains low.”
Egypt’s Cairo airport started screening passengers arriving from China for signs of the corona virus.
There are doctors and health monitors in arrival halls equipped with medical devices needed to examine passengers coming from China.
Flight attendants have also been instructed to report any coronavirus suspected cases among travellers and any suspected cases would be isolated and sent to the hospital, the sources added.
All airports in Egypt are on high alert and have received the same instructions, but most of the flights coming from China arrive in Cairo airport.
Meanwhile, the Chinese government has cut off the city of Wuhan, Huanggang and Ezhou from the rest of the world; putting 20 million residents of the provinces on partial lock down and travel ban.
The lock down, which is part of measures to contain the spread of the outbreak, was announced by the Chinese task-force set up to deal with the crisis in the country.
It said all highways, flights, cafes, public transport systems, and public spaces have been shut down, a move it called a “necessary act to stop the spread of the epidemic.”
