COVID-19: We Did Not Contradict NCDC on Vessel with Six Cases
The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) Sunday said it did not in any way contradict the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) by its attempts to get full details of COVID-19 cases said to have been discovered on a vessel.
In a statement by the General Manager, Corporate and Strategic Communications, Eng. Jatto Adams , the organization its tweet on Thursday last week was not a contradiction of the information from the NCDC.
Adams explained that what the organization wanted to achieve in the tweet was simply to get full details of the incident for record purposes.
He added that such clarification was necessary to allay the fears of stakeholders on the issue considering that shipping companie, terminal operators and even jetty operators did not witness the six cases.
The statement disclosed that the cases have been clarified by the NCDC as involving an oil rig, Siem Marlin on the High Sea, offshore Lagos and accessed by the Lagos State government and the NCDC by helicopter.
Part of the statement reads: “The NPA and Ports Health Services have set clear protocols on the identification of sick people on vessels and the management of suspected and confirmed cases in line with best practices set by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO).
“The protocol is that: The captain of any vessel with a sick person(s) on board must fly two yellow flags, this done, personnel of the Port Health Services will go into the vessel at berth, inspect it and in cases where there is a person on board, they will quarantine the ship and immediately escalate to the Lagos State Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Health will send an epidemiologist who will go on board with Port Health, take samples from the suspected sick person and then report to the NCDC.
“Maritime stakeholders would not have been so apprehensive if it was clear that the passengers were on a rig. This clarification has renewed the confidence of stakeholders in the effectiveness of the processes put in place, which remains. the principal objective of the Authority.
“Given the fact that the maritime industry is central to the management of the pandemic worldwide, the Nigerian Ports Authority is committed to working with all other agencies of government to ensure the safety of all Nigerians”.
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