Chinelo Obogo, Lagos
The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has said passengers and other airport users should comply with all quarantine procedures in the country’s airports as the deadly Coronavirus which broke out in China continues to wreak havoc in Asia.
FAAN in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health said the facilities at Nigerian airports are sufficient enough to prevent the importation of the virus through the airports.
Passengers inbound at all the country’s international gateways have been advised to submit themselves for routine quarantine checks whenever they are asked to.
FAAN has put a high priority on ensuring that this virus is not spread into the country saying that the equipment and personnel used in combating the deadly Ebola virus in 2014 are still very much in place at the airports.
In a statement sent by General Manager Corporate Communication, Mrs Henrietta Yakubu, she said FAAN has always had thermal scanners at the airports that monitor the temperature of passengers and capture their pictures. When passengers walk pass the scanner, it registers their temperature and if too high, they are pulled aside for observation.
The deadly virus known as Coronavirus broke out in China and has since killed nine (9) people, with over 440 people also reported to have been infected. The virus is highly communicable and has already spread to border countries like Japan, Thailand and South Korea.
It causes mild to moderate upper respiratory tract illness, similar to a common cold. Coronavirus symptoms include a runny nose, cough, sore throat, possibly a headache and maybe a fever, which can last for a couple of days.
China’s National Health Commission said on Wednesday that nine people had died from a new coronavirus and 440 people across 13 Chinese provinces had been confirmed to be infected and warned that the still-unidentified virus could mutate.
The Chinese government has classified the outbreak in the same category as the SARS epidemic, meaning compulsory isolation for those diagnosed with the illness and the potential to implement quarantine measures on travel.