At least 20 African countries will get diagnostic kits for timely and effective detection of Coronavirus, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Friday.
The WHO made the declaration as the Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire is yet to speak on the suspected case of coronavirus in Oye, Obi Local Government Area of Benue State; two days after the Senate has directed him to immediately investigate the disease and also mobilise health personnel to the affected area.
Speaking during an interactive session with journalists in Abuja, the WHO Technical Officer, Health Emergencies, Dhamari Naidoo, said there was a plan to procure and distribute diagnostic kits to at least 20 African countries within the week.
She pointed out that since WHO has confirmed the 2019-nCoV as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), it has continued to stress the importance of early detection to curb further spread of the virus.
WHO said as of February 7, there were over 28,000 confirmed cases globally, adding that in China alone 28,060 cases were confirmed with 3,859 severe cases and 564 deaths reported. Outside China, there are 260 confirmed cases reported from 24 countries and one country recording a death.
In Nigeria, she pointed out that the risk assessment was high given the high travel between Nigeria and China, and stated that one of the main priorities of WHO was to pay close attention to the major nine ports of entry into the country.
According to WHO, there was the need for enhanced coordination, cooperation and global solidarity amongst its member states and the global community, to work together to support China, while ensuring that systems were in place and ready to detect early Importation
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She said: “China risks assessment remains very high, the global risk of spread remains high as the regional risk of spread. We are focusing our attention on nine states that have ports of entry air travel and water. This is; Abuja, Lagos, Kano, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Port Harcourt, Enugu, Delta, and Bayelsa. That is our main priority right now.
“One way WHO is supporting is through the procurement and distribution of diagnostics kits which are being rolled out this week in a lot of countries at least 20 countries in the African region to provide that diagnostics testing capacity.”
Meanwhile, the Health Minister, Dr. Osagie Enahire, has kept mute on the situation in Benue despite the directive by the Senate of suspected Coronavirus outbreak.
While the ministry had invited journalists on four occasions, twice on Thursday and twice on Friday, for an update on the situation but the minister failed to show up, those who thronged his office for information on the suspected outbreak were also not answered.
The continuous silence angered the health correspondents who have been invited consistently on the four occasions since Thursday for a briefing and update on the health crisis by the Minister, who had failed on all four occasions to brief them.
After the journalists had thronged the ministry 9 a.m on Friday on the Minister’s invitation, and the meeting was shifted till 2 pm, the journalists were angry after waiting for another three hours and the minister failed to show up.
Having experienced the same situation on Thursday twice, and nobody including the minister attended to them on Friday, all the journalists staged a protest and staged a worked out after waiting for about three hours.
However, unconfirmed information stated that the specimen from Benue had been subjected to a laboratory test against Lassa Fever but the result was negative.
The information did not detail whether the specimen has also been tested for Coronavirus, the question the journalists were eager to confirm from the minister without success.
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