Coronavirus: Port Health Service begins inspection, control exercise at Seme border

News Agency Of Nigeria

January 29, 2020 7:15 PM

Officials of the Port Health Service (PHS) have started active surveillance tagged: “Inspection, Prevention and Control (ICP)’’ of passengers coming in and out of the Nigeria at the Seme border.

A laboratory operator puts on protective gear before handling patients' samples at the Institute Pasteur in Paris (AFP)

A NAN Correspondent, who visited Seme border on Wednesday, observed that the port health officials were stationed at both departure and arrival sides screening immigrants to detect any suspected of having the deadly diseases.

The officials were seen kitted with hand gloves and face masks, screening immigrants from both sides to detect any of the passengers suffering from Coronavirus, Lassa fever and Yellow fever.

An operative of the service, who did not want his name mentioned, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, had directed the PHS to start screening at the border.

According to him, the screening is not only for Lassa fever, there is outbreak of Yellow fever too and Coronavirus is also in Côte d’Ivoire, which is very near to the country.

“We have been directed to screen passengers from both arrival and departure of the border post and our staff are there checking passengers in and outside the post.

“Nobody is exempted from the exercise; our officers are using their own Personal Protection Equipment such as hand gloves and masks.

“Also, we have also sensitised other sister agencies like Customs and Immigration Services on the need to put on hand gloves and masks while attending to passengers at the border post.

“We have also been sensitising the border communities around us on the awareness of the three deadly diseases.

“Now that the deadly Coronavirus is in Cote d’Ivoire, it can easily come down to the country, if care is not taking.

“This is why we are everywhere screening the passengers so that the country will be saved from the Coronavirus,” the official said.

The source said that some of officials of the service had been posted to some routes that some people used to pass or come into the country to checkmate the diseases

News Agency Of Nigeria