Joseph Bakare
The Federal Government has said that it will not accept the request to self-isolate as a precaution against COVID-19; by Nigerians abroad willing to come back home.
“We will not accept the request to self-isolate because it will be difficult to monitor them. That is our position,” Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, said at the Presidential Taskforce on COVID-19 daily briefing on Friday in Abuja.
Onyeama explained that some Nigerians willing to come back home were asking for self-isolation in their homes but he affirmed that such request could not be guaranteed as monitoring them would be difficult.
The Minister said that the limited bed spaces and isolation centres in the country; might have informed their demand to self-isolate in their homes on their return back to the country.
“The truth is that we do not have enough isolation centres and bed spaces. We are looking for hotels in Lagos and I have spoken to the Governor of Lagos. If we can get some, that’ll be fine.”
Onyeama disclosed that the Chinese Ambassador had promised that his country was ready to assist Nigeria’s efforts to fight the virus in any way deemed necessary. He said that since it would be impossible to get all the test done for Nigerians abroad; who would be coming back to the country, government has decided that they would be tested in Nigeria.
The minister said that the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), had agreed that it was better to take all necessary precautions in the fight against COVID-19; by testing them in Nigeria.
