Proactive measures are in place to prevent entry of new COVID variant into the country— Port Health Services assures Nigerians

The officer-in-charge of port health services (PHS) at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Omede Ogu has said proactive measures have been taken to prevent the new COVID-19 variant from slipping into the country.

Ogu gave the assurance in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Friday, August 25.

Recall that the United Kingdom detected its first case of the new COVID-19 variant, BA.2.86, on August 18, and said the strain had also been identified in Israel, Denmark and the US.

Ogu said information on the new variant had been placed on the port health services emergency platform, while other agencies at the airport had also been informed about it.

According to him, “There is currently one confirmed case in the UK in an individual with no recent travel history, which suggests a degree of community transmission within the UK.

Our mandate is health safety and security at the point of entry and it covers both routine and emergency situations.

The ambulances are in good condition and our clinics around the tarmac are in the perfect shape to review any form of emergency, and facilities are inspected daily.

Personnel are trained on a weekly basis and this training is called Weekly Pretentious Infection Training. The purpose of this training is to keep our personnel abreast of steps to take when confronted with emergencies like this.

Our personnel are on the ground and our structures are constantly reviewed, so we assure everyone that there is absolutely nothing to be worried about.

There are cameras on the tarmac that capture the body temperature of passengers when they alight from the plane.

The instruments are categorised into three: the hand-held thermometer, a tripod tarmac scanner and the distant tarmac camera.”