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Coronavirus: Nigerian Lawmaker Says Country Not Screening Travellers For Virus At Airports

February 28, 2020

Borofice said that at the Nnamdi Azikwe Airport, Abuja, travellers were only given a form to indicate whether they were sick or not.

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Deputy Senate Leader, Ajayi Boroffice, has berated the lack of screening of travellers to ascertain if they have contracted Coronavirus.

Borofice said that at the Nnamdi Azikwe Airport, Abuja, travellers were only given a form to indicate whether they were sick or not.

He compared the method to South Africa where he said travellers were checked before disembarking from planes.

He urged the Federal Ministry of Health to put proper checks in place to contain the virus before it begins to spread into the country.

He said, “Because of the issue of Coronavirus, every country in the world is taking preventive measures because the wisdom is that prevention is better than cure.

“I was in South Africa on Friday, I came back yesterday. In South Africa, we were not allowed to leave the aircraft for good 30 minutes.

“Officers of the medical corps came into the aircraft and screened everybody before we were allowed out. 

“But when I arrived yesterday at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport, there was no screening.

“All we were given was a sheet of paper to indicate whether we were sick and whether we had been to one country or the other and how we will be contacted if there was an emergency.

“How will you trail me? How do you know if I have fallen sick. This is very frightening.”

Boroffice and the Senate urged the government and health ministry to intensify screening of all travellers at every airport in the country to prevent the virus from entering Nigeria.