4th February, 2020
Dr Osagie Ehanire, Minister of Health on Tuesday inspected an Isolation Centre under construction at the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital (UATH) Gwagwalada as part of the precautionary measures to prevent importation of coronavirus.
Ehanire in a statement by the Head Media and Public Relations in the ministry, Mrs Enefaa Bob-Manuel, said the Federal Government had adopted the measure in the event that the disease is imported.
“We must not allow it enters our country through any of the entry points.
“As such, if any passenger should test positive at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Abuja, he or she will need to be isolated, thus, the need to have an isolation centre at UATH,” he said
Ehanire said there was a need for a facility where diagnosis could be carried out by staff to be trained by Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and Port Health Services Division of the Ministry.
According to him, the training will equip health workers to build their capacity to treat Lassa fever so that patients will not need to travel as far as Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, in Edo.
The minister, therefore, solicited the support of UATH to enable the health sector to tackle the disease in case of its importation.
In his response, the Chief Medical Director (CMD) of UATH, Prof. Bissallah Ekele pledged his support to provide the necessary facility for the centre.
“I will not only make the yet to be completed Isolation Centre available but also to offer the newly completed Accident and Emergency department for temporary use until the completion of the Isolation centre,’’ he said