Coronavirus: LASG sensitises community, religious leaders to prevent larger outbreak

The Lagos State government on Tuesday carried out a sensitization program

to educate community leaders, on preventive measures on   Coronavirus to prevent a larger outbreak.

The Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, who disclosed this at the Stakeholders’ Forum on the Management and Control of COVID-19 in Lagos State,  said since the Ebola outbreak in Nigeria, Lagos state has been building capacity to handle further outbreaks.

Abayomi said: “We always knew it was going to happen. It was not a matter of if, it was a matter of when and when has happened. I am glad to tell you with the support of Mr. Governor, other colleagues in cabinets and all the health care professionals in our 27 General hospitals, our 300 primary health care facilities, and our teaching hospitals, I am happy to tell you that Lagos is ready.”

However, the commissioner said the state can withstand an outbreak but may not be able to withstand a very large outbreak, hence,  the reason for the stakeholder’s forum was to educate community leaders on preventive measures.

He said, “We are going to be relying on you for information sharing at the community level, to perform good personal hygiene and to ensure that if you are sick you remain at home and you request medical attention.

“You do not move around if you have a cold, cough, flu that you do not spread it to other people at work, it may not be Coronavirus, it may be the normal flu or cold but this is the time when we need to emphasize that it is important when you are sick with the flu or a cold that you do not spread it, you wash you hands regularly,

“If you sneeze, you make sure you are at a distance from anybody else, you sneeze into a handkerchief or a tissue and you discard and you wash your hands. As often as you can wash your hands the better for you. “In our schools, we are teaching our children now to perform good personal hygiene, let it become a habit when your children come home to make sure the first thing they do is to go and wash their hands. It is good practice and we should teach our children that.

“When we gather in crowded places like this in our places of worship or in our rallies, let us ensure that there is no cross ventilation, this is a perfect environment, there is a lot of air there are good fanning systems. This is the kind of place that we know is safe and secure. The commissioner said some people who are coming with certain symptoms particularly travellers, are presenting themselves at the facility at Yaba and being tested off the virus.