The Director-general of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Chikwe Ihekweazu, has been on self-isolation for possible infection of the deadly coronavirus after his return from China.
The NCDC said this in a statement issued on March 3 to debunk reports circulating that the DG was under quarantine over coronavirus.
They explained that between the 16th and 24th of February 2020, the World Health Organisation (WHO) deployed a high-level mission to China.
According to the agency, the mission involved 25 national and international experts who met with their counterparts in China to understand their response to the COVID-19.
NCDC in the statement added that;
As recommended in NCDC’s public health advisory, travelers from countries with ongoing transmission of COVID-19 are advised to proceed on 14-day self-isolation whether well or unwell.
The Director-General has adhered to this, to protect himself and the public. He has been tested since his return and has shown no symptoms of COVID-19 infection. He remains in good health.
The Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, who was at the National Assembly on March 3, told principal officers of the senate that Ihekweazu went into self-quarantine after his return from China to Nigeria and will remain in quarantine in his house for 14 days.
Ehanire who was at the National Assembly to brief the senate leadership on the level of Nigeria’s preparedness to contain the virus disclosed this to the leadership of the Senate.
He added that it is the standard practice for those who just returned from China, where the disease broke out in December, to be quarantined.
In response, Senate President Ahmed Lawan has asked the Ministry of Health to immediately step up the plan to create more isolation centers in all the states of the federation or at least make plans to have one in each of the six geopolitical zones.
