Novel Coronavirus: FG, LASG step up surveillance at ports, others

Following the outbreak of a new virus, the novel Coronavirus (nCoV) which is

currently raging in China, the Federal and Lagos State Governments are currently in

collaboration to prevent the outbreak of the virus in Lagos, the most populous state in

the country, especially at the ports.

The virus, which has claimed no fewer than nine lives so far has also been reported

in some countries of the world, including the United States of America.

The state government, however, assured residents not to panic, as adequate

measures have been put in place to ensure the safety of lives, saying, “no cause for

the alarm.”

In a statement, on Thursday, by the state government through the Commissioner for

Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, issued to alert members of the public said CoV is a large

family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe

diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute

Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).

Abayomi explained that nCoV is a new strain that has not been previously identified

in humans adding that Coronaviruses are primarily infections of animals that can be

transmitted to humans.

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