Lagos asks passengers on Lufthansa, Turkish flights of March 13, 14 to self-isolate

The Lagos government has appealed to every passenger on board the Lufthansa flight LH568 on March 13 and the Turkish flight TK1830 on March 14 to isolate themselves and contact the state ministry of health immediately.

Four new cases of the coronavirus were recorded in the country earlier in the day, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 12.

According to the state ministry of health, the new cases were contacts of the five cases that were confirmed on Wednesday.

The recent cases include a Nigerian female who returned from France via a Turkish airline (TK 1830) on March 14; a Nigerian in his 50s who did not travel out of the country, and another Nigerian male who arrived in the country on  March 13, from Frankfurt, Germany on Luftansa flight LH 568.

In a tweet on Thursday, the government said it is already tracking over 1,300 persons to get information about their state of health.

“We are appealing to everyone that were on these two airlines- Turkish flight of 14th of March, 2020 TK1830 and Lufthansa Flight of 13th of March, 2020 LH 568 to self isolate and contact Lagos State Ministry of Health on 08000CORONA,” it said.

“Currently, we are following over 1,300 people right now to find informaton about the state of health and the number is increasing.

“We are running more test on suspected persons and contacts of confirmed cases. Call toll Free 08000CORONA lines to report suspected cases.”

As part of measures to control the outbreak, the federal government restricted entry into the country for travellers from 13 countries, including China, the UK and the US.

It also advised Nigerians to cancel all travels abroad, especially to high-risk countries.