THE Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu said on Friday that the
state government would prohibit public gatherings if the coronavirus
case confirmed in the state escalated.
He, however, said taking such a measure now in the wake of the
confirmation of the virus could give rise to needless panic among the
public.
At a press conference held at the State House in Marina on Friday , t he
governor noted that the condition of the Italian, who happened to be a
victim , was not ‘highly contagious’ at the moment, hence, there was no
need to forbid public assembly in the state.
Sanwo – Olu allayed the fears of a possible spread among residents in
the state , saying the victim was being isolated at the state ‘s bio
-security facility in the Yaba area of the state .
He assured the people that there was no cause for panic among Lagosians
and Nigerians at large over the reported COVID -19 incident , stressing
that measures had been set in motion by the state and federal government
to contain the spread of the virus in the country.
He said, ” It is only when there is a high level of escalation that the
public can be panicky and this is when we realise that it is getting to
person -to -person transmission .
” As we have said, this isolated case has been contained right from the
hospital where he was first admitted and the guesthouse he slept after
his arrival in Nigeria.
” It is when there is a person – to-person infection that we can trigger
another level of isolation and curtail public events where a large
number of people can gather.
But I don’ t think we have gotten to that level yet. “