The Federal Government is tracing the one hundred and fifty five (155) passengers in the aircraft that brought to Nigeria the Italian confirmed with coronavirus disease (COVID-19). The Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, disclosed this on Monday, March 2nd, 2020, while briefing journalists in Abuja.

He said one hundred and fifty six (156) passengers were on the manifest of the flight that brought the Italian. The Italian patient’s name and other details have not been public made available by the authorities yet.

The minister said some of the Italian patient’s co-passengers were yet to be traced, due to the ambiguity of the contact details they provided.

He said:

We cannot give a fixed figure on the contact tracing because it is a continuing process.

But the only one we know for sure is the 156 passengers who were on the aircraft with him (the Italian) and those ones are being tracked and we have been talking to them and we are getting cooperation.

There have been a few challenges. Some people gave telephone numbers that didn’t work or (when called) said switched off. There are some who probably don’t have telephones or some who are new arrivals in Nigeria.

They are not yet registered with any telephone company, but there are ways in which they can be found out. Some have probably left the country if they were to be here for a day or two,

he said.

Ehanire said that since the first case of the disease was confirmed, the Federal Government had been focusing on containing the disease, including tracing contacts to curtail further spread.

He said that as of Monday, March 2nd, 2020 there was no new confirmed case recorded in the country.

About 14 tests have been done and except that confirmed case, no other person has been confirmed with the disease,

he said.

The minister said currently, the traced contacts of the index case were nineteen (19) in Lagos and thirty nine (39) in Ogun State. He said that health officials had interviewed and isolated the staff of the hotel where the index case lodged and that the taxi driver who drove him had been identified and was under supervision.

The minister added that his ministry had advised the commercial airline that brought the Italian patient to also place their crew under close observation.

The room he (the Italian) stayed in has been decontaminated, fumigated (and) even the taxi he used has also been treated,

he said.

Lagos quarantines over 100 suspects
Meanwhile, the Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, said on Monday, March 3rd, 2020 that over one hundred (100) people who had one form of contact or the other with the Italian patient had been identified and quarantined.

Prof. Abayomi, who addressed journalists immediately after a meeting of stakeholders on coronavirus, at Lagos House, Ikeja, said that the state was being extremely cautious by locating where all the index patient’s contacts were.

We are still trying to find the remaining passengers in the aircraft. Our contact list is over 100 and it is increasing every day. We are quarantining them to check them for 14 days,

he said.

Justin Nwosu

Justin Nwosu is the founder and publisher of Flavision. His core interest is in writing unbiased news about Nigeria in particular and Africa in general. He’s a strong adherent of investigative journalism, with a bent on exposing corruption, abuse of power and societal ills.