The Federal Government has said that the 15-member medical team from China, who recently completed their compulsory 14-day quarantine, have all tested negative for the COVID-19 virus.
The Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, said this on Tuesday in Abuja at the 21st joint national briefing of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19.
He also said that the Committee of Experts, which will be sworn in later, is headed by Professor Oyewale Tomori, a renowned virologist, and that other members will be revealed at the swearing-in.
The minister had said the Chinese medical experts will be providing technical support to Nigeria in its fight against COVID-19, and also sharing experiential strategies of how their country curtailed the spread of the virus.
“As for the Chinese persons who came in, the test has been done after they were quarantined for 14 days. All of them were negative. After that, the Federal Ministry of Health is done with that particular case,” Ehanire said.
He added: “The Ministry of Health has set up a Ministerial expert advisory committee, made up of eminent Nigerian virologists, public health experts, infectious disease and diagnostic experts and others, to study the evolution and development of the COVID-19 outbreak and the responses in Nigeria.
“The committee will advise on the national strategy and action plan, using lessons learned as we go along, and those learned from strategies in places across the globe. This will help us to identify and adopt the promising strategies and align our plans with best practices and advisories.”
On security at the isolation centres, he said: “I can say quite happily and proudly that the Nigerian Army has agreed to support isolation centres with security as the need arises.
“So, we shall be applying for their support in situations where we need security for all our patients and also for those who are awaiting results who have been tested.”
