Coronavirus: Buhari, govt officials warned against foreign trips

The International Emergency Management Society (TIEMS), has advised President Muhammadu Buhari, his administration and Governments of countries affected by coronavirus to impose an international travel ban on their officials.

TIEMS Director (Nigeria/West Africa), Ismail Sani, made the call in a statement on Sunday.

He lamented that despite the alarming rate the deadly virus was spreading, some government officials in Nigeria and elsewhere were still travelling outside their countries for conferences and events.

“The government should as a matter of urgent national importance suspend all foreign trips for its officials until further notice”, he noted.

“Foreigners and other travellers should also be subjected to thorough health check and screening on arrival at the ports, no matter their status in order to safeguard the lives of the populace.

“The outbreak of the coronavirus has claimed lives and hospitalised so many in the last couple of days, hence the urgent need to be more proactive in approaching the situation at hand,” the TIEMS added.

Nigeria recorded its first case in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial hub, on February 27.

The affected individual is an Italian, who works in Nigeria and returned from Milan, Italy to Lagos, on February 25.

Coronavirus broke out in Wuhan, China in mid-December 2019.

Currently, over 100,000 cases have been reported in 88 countries with more than 3,500 deaths.