Coronavirus update: Over 100 now on Lagos contact list, as 2 test negative

• Sanwo-Olu tasks LG, CDA chairmen on public enlightenment

Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu today, March 2, disclosed that two persons suspected and tested for Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19) have tested negative to the infection.

Sanwo-Olu who stated this today while giving an update on COVID-19 during a stakeholders’ meeting with Chairmen of Local Government, Community Development Associations and Medical Officers of Health of the 57 LGAs and LCDAs noted that the two suspected cases were from Ogun State.

Said he, “We have been testing a few suspicious cases, in fact, we tested two yesterday, they were both negative and both from Ogun State. We are very much on the lookout; our index of suspicion is very high and we have alerted all our medical facilities both public and private to be cautious about anybody who presents with fever, cough, cold, difficulty in breathing, diarrhea and body pains”

The Governor while noting that the Stakeholders’ meeting was called at his instance stated that the aim was to disseminate information and ensure that only accurate information about COVID-19 permeates through to the grassroots and get to nooks and crannies of the State through the Local Government Chairmen, Community Development Associations and the Medical Officers of Health.

“The purpose of this meeting was to disseminate as much information as possible to the Lagos communities through the local government, the CDAs and CDCs down to the grassroots so that everybody is aware of the typical features of COVID-19 and that our doctors at the local government level are operating properly”, Sanwo-Olu said.

The Governor while emphasizing the need for citizens to adopt high standard of personal and environmental hygiene as precautionary measures against infectious diseases, tasked the chairmen of local government and community development associations to step up public enlightenment and sensitization campaign on COVID-19 and other infectious diseases in their communities.

He advised residents to desist from spreading fake and unverified news about COVID-19 stressing that the spread of fake news is inimical to the progress made in breaking the circle of transmission of the disease.

Addressing journalist after the meeting, the Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi disclosed that the contact list of the index case of COVID-19 in Lagos is over 100 and increasing daily.

He explained that the contact being traced includes 159 passengers on the aircraft, six people who came in contact with index case at the hotel, 35 people at the factory, two drivers and an ambulance driver.

“We have managed to identify all of these people except some of those people on the aircraft who have either gone back to Europe, other states or other countries or given false information on their forms”.

“We are unrelenting in our quest and we are still trying to find the remaining passengers on that aircraft and every day we are finding more. Our contact list now is over a 100 and it increasing every day”, Abayomi said.

The Commissioner reiterated the need for members of the public to adopt and maintain respiratory hygiene adding that hand washing practice should be imbibed by all.