The Federal Government has added Austria and Sweden to the list of high-risk countries restricted from entering Nigeria over the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
Already, 13 countries considered high-risk have been placed on the list released on Wednesday by the Presidential Task Force on the control of coronavirus.
The countries include China, Iran, South Korea, Germany, Italy, United States, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Norway, Netherlands, Spain, France, and Japan.
“With the addition of Austria and Sweden, the total number of high-risk countries under restriction comes to 15.
The Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, who made this known in a press briefing while giving an update on the coronavirus in Abuja, also said that international travel to Nigeria has been temporarily limited to only two international airports: Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos and Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, for better control of new arrivals.
He said: “Following the declaration of a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) and increasing spread of COVID-19, our strategy is to detect and isolate new cases as early as possible to interrupt or reduce transmission of infections.
“To this end, we have scaled up our response efforts. To reduce the risk of new cases entering Nigeria, the government, through the Presidential Task Force on the Control of Coronavirus (COVlD-19), announced a ban on entry for travelers from 13 known high-risk countries.
“According to our national case definition, we have identified two more high risk countries, Austria and Sweden, who were added in the last 24 hours. We are also including COVID-19 testing in our routine surveillance for influenza-like illness.
“For better control of new arrivals, international travel to Nigeria has been temporarily limited to only two international airports: Murtala Mohammed International Airport Lagos and Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Abuja.
Port health services will be strengthened at these airports. Other airports shall be closed to international traffic. These decisions will be reviewed as the situation demands.
“Travelers from all countries shall be required to self-isolate for 14 days after entry, along the guidelines provided to them. Non-compliance puts your family, friends, and the public at risk, even if you feel well.
“As for arrivals from the high-risk countries named, their self-isolation shall be supervised in the form of follow up to be conducted by port health services and NCDC with the option of testing, as need arises.
“He further added: “On the 19th of March 2020, four additional cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) were confirmed in Lagos State.
“This brings the total number of confirmed cases in Nigeria to 12. Of the 12 confirmed cases in the country, 9 were reported in Lagos, 2 in Ogun and 1 in Ekiti.
“Nigeria is therefore experiencing an influx of imported COVID-19 cases by travelers, including returning Nigerians.
“This emphasises the importance of self-isolation for a minimum of 14 days, even if you feel well.
“Eight of the 12 cases are travelers from Italy, United Kingdom, United States of America and France. Three cases are contacts of imported cases and one case confirmed yesterday has no travel history in the last one month, but may have met with foreign visitors.
“The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) is working closely with Lagos, Ogun and Ekiti state governments to carry out contact tracing.
“l emphasise that this is an extremely important but also arduous task, and I urge all state, local government, law enforcement authorities and community leaders to give full cooperation to investigators.
“Contact tracing is ongoing to identify all persons who have been in contact with confirmed cases. About 1,300 contacts have been traced so far.
“The Port Health Services of the Federal Ministry of Health, in collaboration with the state Ministries of Health, has heightened screening at all air, land and sea points of entry into Nigeria and adapted the protocols to reflect the travel guidance issued by the Presidential Task Force for the Control of Coronavirus (COVID-19).
“The Federal Ministry of Health is working with Nigerian Customs Service and Nigeria Immigration Service to ensure surveillance at land and sea borders.
“Ships coming in through the seaports are also subjected to mandatory health screening and clearance by Port Health Services, especially ships that sailed from high-risk ports, have been at sea for less than 14 days or that have crew members who are ill.
“The multi-sectoral Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) led by NCDC continues to coordinate national response activities.
“Various states have implemented measures to shut down schools and large gatherings.
“However we must now begin to emphasise the importance of personal responsibility by citizens.
“Those who have just returned from overseas travel will be doing themselves, their families and the country a great favour if they stay home in self-isolation for 14 days, during which they shall report their health daily to NCDC on phone numbers provided.
“This is to be done whether you have symptoms or not.
“NCDC published guidance on self-isolation with clear steps on what to do to stay safe.
“We urge Nigerians to wash their hands, avoid contact with people who are sick and practice proper personal hygiene.
“We applaud the efforts of Lagos, Ogun and Ekiti State governments in implementing urgent response activities and urge other states to do the same if and when the need arises.
“At the National Executive Council (NEC) chaired by the Vice President this week, I urged states to urgently scale up investment at sub-national level, especially in contact tracing and usable emergency isolation centres.”
With regard to the self-isolation, especially for people who live in houses that are either too small or too crowded to effectively self-isolate, the Minister said: “Self-isolation is actually a social responsibility.
“It is in the interest of the individual, their family, their neighborhood and the country for them to self-isolate and use any method.
“We are not going to inspect your house to find out.
“If anyone needs to self-isolate, they should as much as possible stay in one room and do not take visitors so that you limit the number of people that stand the risk of being infected.
“That remains a social responsibility of the individual.
“I also know people that have called me and said ‘there are many of us who live in my house and I don’t want to endanger them’. So they went to rent a small hotel room outside.
“I call that social responsibility because they don’t want to endanger their family.
“I also know that there are some people who resist being taken to any kind of isolation centre, so those ones can also take a hotel room if they cannot take the other option.”
On the Enugu suspected Coronavirus patient quarantined in the state isolation centre, and reported to have died, Dr. Ehanire said: “I must commend the family of the case that came in to Enugu for being proactive in noticing that their mother came in from travel abroad, noticing she has a temperature and taking necessary steps to approach the health authorities there.
“They apparently used what they had at the moment. We didn’t know about the kind of facility that he had.
“The focus at the time was if the person was positive or negative for Coronavirus, and once they identify that it was not positive they discharged the patient.
“What happened subsequently we didn’t know.
“While we really do sympathize with the family, if that is exactly the way it happened, according to your reports, we do believe that it is a learning moment for everybody to know what to do and to respond in this case.
“Part of the task that the presidential task force on control of Coronavirus has taken up now is to urge states to have, even if temporarily, isolation centres that will meet the standards.”