*Says not all of them are Doctors
The Federal Government on Thursday said it is not aware of the whereabouts of the Chinese doctors and technicians who came into the country to offer assistance to Nigeria in the fight against the Coronavirus.
iBrandtv had reported that the 15-member Chinese medical team made up of doctors, nurses, and laboratory technicians, arrived at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on April 8, 2020, on the invitation of the government.
The team came in with medical equipment worth about $1.5 million, and went in for two week quarantine period according to Covid-19 protocols.
The Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire disclosed this during the daily briefing of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on the containment of the COVID-19 in Abuja on Thursday.
The arrival of the Chinese doctors and technicians generated strong criticisms, but the federal government dispelled the fears of their presence, saying they were in the country to help.
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However, when asked during the briefing on the whereabouts of the Chinese medical team, Ehanire said: “I want to explain first of all that I think not all of them were doctors and I heard that some of them are technicians, but they are the staff of CCECC, the Ministry of health is not their host, so we can’t always explain what happened to them or where they are.
“There seems to be a lot of interests in these doctors, but they are the staff of a company, and I think they are on the company visa. So I will be pleased if you do not ask me about where they are because they are not really our guests in that sense.
“But we have been able to learn some things from them by interacting with them from their experience in their country. We shared ideas about what they did in their country in managing COVID-19.”
On returnee compliance to guarantee rules
According to the Secretary to the government of the Federation, SGF and Chairman of the PTF COVID-19 response team, Boss Mustapha, the returnees are Nigerians recently evacuated from the UAE, UK & USA.
“The PTF is saddened by the conduct of some of the returnees who fail to adhere to the conditions attached to their quarantine.
”I strongly urge them to obey the rules in the facilities and also urge their friends and relations to recognize the contagious nature of the disease by desisting from visiting them,” Mustapha.
“is in the interest of the visiting relation and in the overall public interest”
“The 14th May marks the beginning of the countdown to the end of the first phase of eased lockdown. The PTF will continue its assessment of the level of compliance with the guidelines and the impact on slowing down the spread of COVID 19.”
