The Federal Government has said it was yet to trace about 93 passengers out of a total of 148 who were on board the Turkish airline that conveyed the Italian infected with Coronavirus into the country. This was even as intending travellers to high risk countries have been advised to shelve their proposed trios if possible, to avert further infections and spread of the virus. Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, who made this known while briefing journalists on the epidemic, said so far, only 55 persons have been traced and actively being monitored by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and port health services for possible symptoms of the virus.
Disturbed that the 93 passengers on board with the Italian might have been infected one way or the other, the minister have appealed to the passengers or any close relative or friend, who have access to ensure they (the passengers), report to the NCDC or call its toll free numbers (08009700001- 10) for prompt monitoring while ensuring they embark on self-isolation. He said: “Of the 148 passengers on the manifest of the index case flight, 55 are actively being followed up.
The NCDC and the port health services are in touch with then to monitor their temperatures and possible appearance of COVID-19 symptoms. “Those we can track we used all methods that is why we have specialists, epidemiologists, who do the tracking, looking for them asking neighbours and that is where the general public can also help “We are directly appealing, maybe some of them have not even heard that there was a problem on board their aircraft, they may not even have heard at all if they are busy with other things.
