On Friday, Dr. Omede Ogu, the Officer-in-Charge of Port Health Services (PHS), Murtala Muhammed International Airport, said that preemptive steps had been taken to stop the new COVID-19 variant from entering the country.
In a Lagos interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Ogu provided the guarantee.
Remember that on August 18, the UK reported discovering its first instance of the new COVID-19 variation, BA.2.86, and that the strain had already been found in Israel, Denmark, and the US.
According to the UK Health Security Agency, “there is currently one confirmed case in the UK in a person with no recent travel history, suggesting a degree of community transmission within the UK.”
Ogu stated that details regarding the new variation had been posted on the Port Health Services Emergency Platform and that it had also been communicated to other airport organisations.
Our mandate, which encompasses both normal and emergency scenarios, is health, safety, and security at the point of entry.
“The new variation has been added to the emergency platform for Port Health Services, and we have also alerted sister organisations at the airport to its presence.
“Our clinics surrounding the tarmac are in ideal condition to handle any type of emergency, and the facilities are examined regularly. The ambulances are also in fine working order.
Weekly Pretentious Infection Training is the name of the weekly training programme for staff members. This training’s goal is to keep our staff members informed on what to do in situations like these.
“We promise everyone that there is absolutely nothing to worry about,” he added. “Our employees are on the ground and our structures are regularly examined.
Ogu stated that the Port Health Service works with Emergency Operation Centres (EOCs) around the nation that include stakeholders who discuss various emergency containment techniques.
He said that when passengers get out of an aeroplane, cameras on the tarmac record their body temperatures.
“The port health services are the first stop for every passenger arriving at the airport, and they screen them to look for anomalies in body temperature.
The hand-held thermometer, the tripod tarmac scanner, and the far-off tarmac camera are the three categories into which the devices fall, he explained.
He claims that the remote tarmac camera is most useful since it records everyone and all relevant health data, and port health officials can view the outcome on the screen.
For better coverage and reporting, he stated, “We intend to get more cameras in the near future.”
Noting that the new version was still at the observatory stage, he encouraged Nigerians not to worry.
