The Guild of Medical Directors on Wednesday urged the Federal Government to exhibit extreme vigilance towards the control of COVID-19 pandemic.

This is contained in a statement signed by the President of the Guild, Prof. Femi Dokun-Babalola, in Abuja.

According to the statement, restrictions should be placed on flights coming from meso-endemic and hyper-endemic countries.

“This will include countries such as China, South Korea, Europe in general and in particular Italy, Spain, Norway and Sweden.

“Nigerians coming in from the UK, in particular, should be tested beyond the usual temperature check and quarantined for 14 days at home if negative.

“We suggest that Nigerians coming in from these countries should be quarantined for 14 days as required by the WHO,” it stated.

The statement said several Europeans were streaming into the country only to embark on a journey to the U.S. by Delta airlines.

“We also believe that a more robust protocol should be introduced for the detection of cases including random tests in households where foreign trips have just been completed.

“This is because it is possible and even likely that more cases of COVID-19 may have entered our shores undetected,” it said.

The statement said similar measures had been taken in Ghana, Sudan and South Africa, among other nations in Africa.

“We believe that these enhanced measures will go a long way in further protecting our people from the ravages of COVID-19 epidemic.

“At the moment, no fewer than 160,000 persons have been infected worldwide, of which over 6,000 have died.

“Three hundred of the infected cases are found in African countries, many of which are either returnees from countries with significant endemic rate, or primary contacts of such returnees,” it said.

The statement said Nigeria could not afford for the epidemic to get a foothold in the country.

 

 

 

(NAN)