Coronavirus: Mamora Apologises for Non-availability of Hand Wash Soap in Health Ministry’s Toilet

Pat Stevens/

The Minister of State for Health, Dr Olorunnibe Mamora, today apologised to a journalist who complained about the non-availability of hand washing soap in the toilet of the ministry in Abuja.

The male journalist was among those who attended the press briefing by the minister to provide update on the coronavirus pandemic.

The live broadcast of the briefing was monitored by NewsmakersNG on Channels TV.

During the question and answer session, the journalist had complained that he could not get soap to wash his hands after visiting one the toilets in the ministry’s headquarters.

The minister, who admitted that the ministry had no excuse for development, apologised to the journalist and promised immediate action to correct the anomaly.

The health ministry and its agencies have been at the forefront of the campaign for citizens to adopt frequent hand washing as an effective means of curtailing the spread of coronavirus and other infectious diseases.

While addressing the journalists, the minister anmounced the decision of the Federal Government to subject travellers coming into Nigeria from France, Germany, and Spain to secondary screening at the nation’s international airports.

He said such travellers would also be required to self-isolate for 14 days.

He said the three countries have been added to the list of high-risk nations with widespread community transmission.

Already, Nigeria had placed China, Japan, Iran, Italy and Republic of Korea on high-risk status.

Mamora said the step became important for travellers from the eight countries after Nigeria carried out a review of its case definition for coronavirus.

He stated, “Despite that, we have not recorded a confirmed COViD-19 case in the last one week in Nigeria, it is important to remember that we are still at high risk like other countries.

“We continue to monitor returning travellers that fit our case definition and improve our surveillance, detection and risk communications.

“Following the declaration of a pandemic and increasing spread in countries, we carried out a review of our case definition. We have added three new countries to the existing list of five high-risk countries with widespread community transmission. These are France, Germany, and Spain. Therefore, eight countries are on our priority list – China, Japan, Iran, Italy, Spain, the Republic of Korea, France and Germany.

“Travellers from these eight countries will undertake secondary screening at the point of entry. They are also advised to self-isolate for 14 days on entry.”

He noted that between January 7 and March 15, 2020, a total of 48 people, who met Nigeria’s case definition had been screened for coronavirus in Edo, Lagos, Ogun, Yobe, Rivers, Kano, Enugu states and the Federal Capital Territory.

He added, “47 have tested negative and have been cleared, one was positive (contact of the index case) and one result is pending. There has been no death. The index case is clinically stable and has improved greatly. We look forward to progressing early this week, to guide the medical team in discharging him.”

On the case of the woman that was placed in isolation in Enugu after being suspected of having symptoms synonymous with coronavirus, Mamora said she had tested negative to the virus.

He said, “In Enugu, a woman in her 70s returned from the United Kingdom and had symptoms of fever and mild respiratory illness. Her sample was collected for laboratory diagnosis and tested negative for COVID-19. Therefore, as of March 15, 2020, Nigeria has recorded two confirmed cases of COVID-19. One case is now negative and has been discharged from the hospital.”

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