Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has advised the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), to stop all flights from countries that have recorded outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19).
Atiku, who was the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the last election, said Nigeria should fight the disease the same way it was able to tackle the outbreak of Ebola in 2014.
He said in a Facebook post that since Buhari had been able to shut land borders to protect the economy, it would not be too difficult to stop flights from countries facing the coronavirus scourge.
“But above all, Nigeria must not panic, whether at the government or individual levels. We have defeated Ebola before, and we can defeat this present predicament,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Friday allayed the fears of Lagosians over the record of the deadly coronavirus in the state, saying there was no cause for alarm.
Speaking at a press conference at the State House, Marina, Sanwo-Olu said the government had begun tracing those who had contacts with the Italian patient who developed the symptoms in Ogun State, where he had a businesses meeting on Tuesday.
With surveillance officers stationed in all the local government and local council development areas, the governor tasked Lagosians and Nigerians in general on preventive measures through observing proper personal and environmental hygiene.
Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mr Mudashiru Obasa, on Friday also called for calm among residents of the state, saying the state government had always been proactive in relation to the safety of lives.
Meanwhile, Saipem, an Italian multinational oilfield services company, has debunked claims that the Italian man who brought the dreaded coronavirus to Nigeria visited its office on Banana Island, Lagos.
The Managing Director of Saipem Contracting Nigeria Limited, Walter Peviani, said in a statement on Friday that the Italian never visited the office.
Ibadan: Quarantined Chinese medical practitioner, other test negative
A Nigerian and a Chinese medical practitioner who were quarantined for coronavirus in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, for one month have been released after testing negative to the deadly virus.
A source at the state Ministry of Health confirmed that the Nigerian, who arrived from China a month ago, manifested some symptoms similar to those of coronavirus when his case was reported by the private hospital where he was being treated.
He was said to have been quarantined but was later released after testing negative to the virus.
The second patient, a Chinese medical practitioner, was brought into the hospital by a Chinese factory in Ibadan for showing similar symptoms.
The management of the factory reportedly quarantined him to prevent the spread of the virus. He was, however, released when he tested negative to it.
Meanwhile, the Oyo State Government has said it is on red alert to guard against the outbreak of the dreaded virus in the state.
The state Commissioner for Health, Dr Basir Bello, said the need for caution came following the first reported case of the virus in the neighbouring Lagos State.
