COVID-19: Nigerian govt admits its self-isolation policy has failed

The federal government of Nigeria, through the Ministry of Health has admitted that its policy on self-isolation, which prescribes that people should stay at home for certain time to authenticate their COVID-19 status has failed.

Nigeria’s Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, who made this known on Thursday in Abuja during the daily briefing of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, said that the failure of the policy was the reason quarantining was made compulsory for all those coming into Nigeria.

Ehanire who was making particular reference to people especially those coming into the country by air, land or sea, said that there were many COVID-19 cases from such persons.

“In order to curb the incidence of such cases coming in and forming clusters of new infections across the country, the provision of self-isolation has now been replaced with quarantining of returnees on arrival,” the health minister said.

According to him, “The policy we have now is that anybody arriving Nigeria from anywhere whether by air, land or by sea will go into quarantine for 14 days. During those 14 days, they will be observed for any signs or symptoms of COVID-19 disease. They will be tested at the beginning and at the end.

“We don’t have a provision for isolation at home. At the very beginning, we had that provision that if you came in and did not have a symptom, you isolate at home. Since then, all the cases we are dealing with now came in and multiplied. In order to reduce the incidence of cases coming in and then forming clusters of new infections, the provision has now changed to what we call isolation-one or quarantine.

Read also: Niger confirms death of COVID-19 patient in commercial bus travelling from Lagos

“Quarantine is for those who have not been confirmed or who are under isolation. If during the period, signs and symptoms show up, they will be tested. If they are positive they will go to treatment centres. If after 14 days they show no symptoms or signs and they are tested and are negative, they are free to go. That is the protocol we have now.”

“I join the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) in welcoming the first batch of Nigerian nationals, who were successfully repatriated yesterday evening to Lagos from Dubai. They have entered into mandatory supervised 14-day quarantine, in 2 designated hotels, in line with laid down protocols.

“They will be tested for COVID-19 and any person testing positive shall be invited to a treatment facility. I appeal to our returning citizens to bear with us and cooperate with authorities, especially if they perceive imperfections in our arrangements, as this is a test run, the first of these exercises,” he said.

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