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After Plateau Government quarantined four Chinese nationals in the State in line with measures to forestall the spread of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID -19), residents of Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have complained about scarcity of face masks, an item needed to protect against the spread of the disease.
TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports the Plateau State Government quarantined four Chinese nationals, who miners working in Wase Local Government Area of the State, after they entered the country from China enroute Addis Ababa Airport to Abuja airport, where they were screened by health officials.
“They are four nationals, one arrived on Feb. 25, while the three others arrived on Feb. 26. On questioning them, they said they came from China, enroute Addis Ababa Airport to Abuja airport , where they were screened by health officials,” the State Commissioner for Health, Dr Nimkong Ndam said in an interview.
He said the uproar that their arrival had caused was just speculations which would be confirmed after their isolation for 14 days, as they had not shown any symptoms of the virus.
He assured the public that health officials were on ground to ensure all measures were taken to curtail the spread of the virus which had killed more than 2000 lives in China, since it was first reported in December 2019.
Meanwhile, across section of Abuja residents who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria on Sunday, expressed concern over the unavailability of face masks in the markets.
Mr Joseph Abiodun told NAN in Gwagwalada that he had checked for face masks to buy in supermarkets and pharmacies in the area but could not find any.
Abiodun said with an index case of Convid-19 recorded in Lagos, it was expected that face masks and other protective materials be easily made available.
Zainab Abubakar, another resident said she used her weekend searching for face masks to buy in order to get prepared for the week but couldn’t get any because it was not available in the markets.
Abubakar noted that she was not willing to patronise hawkers that sell such products on the streets.
Similarly, Mr Isaac Avoihi, a resident of Federal Housing in Lugbe complained of unavailability of face masks in his area.
Avoihi said he was ready to buy the face masks at any price because of its importance owing to the outbreak of the disease in Nigeria.
Mrs Modinat Balogun told NAN that the scarcity of the face masks in her area and other parts of Abuja was worrisome.
Balogun said she went to the city centre to buy sanitisers and face masks for herself and her children but she could not get the face masks in any of the supermarkets visited.
She appealed to the government to provide all personal protective materials for people free of charge, adding that doing so would help in containing the spread of the disease.
Face masks were out of stocks in most supermarkets and pharmacies visited in Gwagwalada and Lugbe areas of FCT.
While reacting to news about the suspected Coronavirus patients in Wase Local Government Area, Chairman of Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Plateau chapter, Dr Titus Dajel called for more stringent measures at entry points of the state to control the spread of the virus in the state and the nation.
Dajel said thorough checks by relevant authorities should be conducted on foreigners entering the country, especially from countries with the Coronavirus.
“We urge the public to exercise caution and high level of hygiene and avoid crowdy areas and environment.
Nigeria’s confirmed coronavirus case was first reported on Friday of an Italian working in a cement factory in Ogun State.
The Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, said there are four laboratories in the country where suspected cases could be tested.