WHAT IS HAPPENING

The Lagos State Ministry of Health is closely monitoring an outbreak caused by a novel (new) coronavirus which was first noticed in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China.

As at 28th January 2020, at least 132 people are dead and almost 6,000 cases have been confirmed in mainland China, as the Wuhan coronavirus spreads across Asia and the rest of the world. Nearly 60 million people are under partial or full lockdowns in Chinese cities. There are more than 80 confirmed cases outside China including in Ethiopia and Kenya.

No cases have been identified in Nigeria.

What are Coronaviruses:

Coronaviruses (CoV) are a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV). A novel coronavirus (nCoV) is a new strain that has not been previously identified in human. Coronaviruses are zoonotic, meaning they are transmitted between animals and people.

Common signs and symptoms:

Fever, headache, chills, chest pain, sore throat, cough, shortness of breath and difficulty in breathing. In more severe cases, infection can cause pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome, kidney failure and even death.

Incubation Period:

Incubation period for coronavirus is 2-5 days. However, symptoms of coronavirus may appear in as few as 2 days or as long as 15 days after exposure.

How is it transmitted?

Human coronaviruses most commonly spread from an infected person to others through:

• The air by coughing and sneezing
• Close personal contact, such as touching or shaking hands
• Touching an object or surface with the virus on it, then touching your mouth, nose, eyes without washing your hands.
• Rarely, faecal contamination

How can the risks of coronavirus infection be reduced?

• Clean hands with soap & water, or alcohol-based hand rub
• Cover nose and mouth when coughing and sneezing with tissue or flexed elbow
• Avoid close contact with anyone with cold or flu-like symptoms
• Wash your hands
• After sneezing or coughing
• When caring for the sick
• Before, during and after you prepare food
• Before eating
• After toilet use
• When hands are dirty
• After handling animals or animal waste

Health Care Workers’ Responsibilities:

• Maintain good environmental hygiene
• Use personal protective equipment (nose masks, sterile gloves, hospital gowns and boots) every time patients are being attended to.
• Isolate suspected cases and report to the contacts below
• All healthcare facilities are to ensure that their personnel are correctly trained and capable of implementing infection control procedures.

What is Lagos State Government Doing?

The Lagos State Biosecurity team in collaboration with Lagos University Teaching Hospital is currently working on building urgent capacity to identify the virus in our Biosecurity facility and isolation wards located at the Mainland Infectious Disease Hospital in Yaba, in the event of any suspected case arriving in Lagos State.

Lagos is ramping up its level of preparedness considering the large commercial trading traffic between Nigeria and China/Thailand.

We are in touch with National Center for Disease Control in Abuja to align our strategies.

Importantly we are also collaborating with the Federal Ports Authority at air, land and sea border posts to elevate screening and surveillance of incoming travellers.

The Lagos State Government is very committed to the health and safety of her citizen and there is no cause for panic or alarm. This announcement is just to assure you that we are preparing for any eventuality as directed by Mr Governor.

Anyone travelling from South East Asia or who has had contact with a traveller from that region and who is experiencing the above symptoms is advised to go to the nearest health facility for immediate assessment and further treatment.

For further enquiries please contact Lagos State Ministry of Health, Biosafety and Security Department via:

Phone number:        08023169485, 08033565529, 08052817243
Twitter:                      @followlasg or @profAkinAbayomi

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