Ondo prepared to curtail coronavirus – Adegbenro

By Kemi Olatunde
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Ondo state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Wahab Adegbenro has expressed government’s preparedness to tackle the coronavirus just as he prayed that it does not spread to the state.

He made this known yesterday while speaking with The Hope in a telephone interview in Akure.

According to him, the Emergency Operation Centre has been put in perfect condition to cater for  the management of suspected cases in the state.

While stressing the need for residents of the state to avoid crowded areas, he explained that the virus is airborne saying “if anyone with it is within the crowd, it gets more people infected” and added that all should embrace good personal hygiene.

However, he advised people who exhibit symptoms of flu to visit the nearest health facility as soon as possible for immediate and proper diagnosis.

It would be recalled that Lagos state government and Federal Ministry of Health  confirmed the first case of coronavirus in Nigeria last Friday in a statement by Akin Abayomi, the state Commissioner for Health, who noted that the case is an Italian citizen who entered Nigeria on the 25th of February from Milan, Italy for a brief business visit.

According to another statement by Osagie Enahire, the Federal Minister of Health, the case was confirmed by the Virology Laboratory of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, part of the Laboratory Network of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control.

“The Federal Ministry of Health, through Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, will continue to provide updates and will initiate all measures required to prevent the spread of any outbreak in Nigeria,” he said.

The minister added that “the government of Nigeria, through the Federal Ministry of Health has been strengthening measures to ensure an outbreak in Nigeria is controlled and contained quickly”.

“The multi-sectoral Coronavirus Preparedness Group led by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has immediately activated its national Emergency Operations Centre and will work closely with Lagos State Health authorities to respond to this case and implement firm control measures.

“I wish to assure all Nigerians that we have been beefing up our preparedness capabilities since the first confirmation of the cases in China, and we will use all the resources made available by the government to respond to this case.

“We have already started working to identify all the contacts of the patient, since he entered Nigeria. Please be reminded that most people who become infected may experience only mild illness and recover easily, but it can be more severe in others, particularly the elderly and persons with other underlying chronic illnesses.”

Over 80,000 cases have been recorded globally, out of which more than 33,000 people have recovered.

Nigeria becomes the 52nd country to confirm a positive case of the virus according to an online report.