A close call: How the 15 staff of Lagos firm meant for quarantine got lucky
Since the Coronavirus outbreak became a global pandemic, Nigeria has experienced quite a few close calls. One case in Enugu could have spread the virus to the entire Southeast region and an Indian national who both tested negative to Coronavirus could have made the situation worse. Another case of an American national who is suspected to have infected his Nigerian driver with Coronavirus in Ekiti, unfortunately, died as his caregiver tested negative.
However, the potential for a large scale Coronavirus outbreak in Nigeria came with the third case of Coronavirus; a 30-year-old Nigerian woman returning from the U.K last Friday. She had gone on arrival to stay with her cousin who works at Birdview, a Lagos based media company. After developing symptoms, she went into self-isolation. On Tuesday, March 17, she tested positive for COVID-19.
The CEO of Birdview, Ayo Alaba Idowu shared the scary news of how 15 staff in the company might be at risk of contracting the Coronavirus through the third case’s cousin who works with them. Consequently, the entire staff was subjected to a Coronavirus test and possible quarantine.
“Today, I made a painful, but necessary, decision to suspend operations at our business headquarter in Ikeja for the next 15 days, and subject about 15 employees in the building to Coronavirus test and subsequent government quarantine or self-quarantine,” he said.
There was a lot of uncertainty as the circle of infected people could also include the families of the 15 affected staff and other people they came in contact with.
But there has been an overwhelming relief after Idowu gave an update on the issue on his Facebook and Instagram accounts
“I can now confirm the bright development that our staff tested negative to the virus in the early minutes of today [Wednesday],” he revealed.
This means that the 15 staff who were in close contact with the exposed staff are by this virtue, negative.
“Our business swung into extreme actions by placing the office building under lock and keys, suspending business operations, and subjecting all employees that could have been in contact with the staff to mandatory and monitored quarantine, separate from their families, till we received the result of the test carried out on the exposed staff,” Idowu explained.
“While this sounds like a big relief to Nigeria and Nigerians, it is a testament to the pandemic nature of COVID-19, and should not be taken for granted by anyone and for any reason.
We extend our solidarity to everyone fighting the virus, especially our staff’s cousin who recently tested positive. We pray that they are blessed with the strength and fortitude to withstand the waiting time for the virus to run its course.”
Idowu further disclosed that the Ikeja office is being disinfected as a precautionary measure and the staff is expected to resume work on Friday, March 20.
Nigeria currently has eight confirmed cases of Coronavirus. The two first cases have fully recovered and discharged while the newly confirmed cases are undergoing monitored isolation. The Nigerian government has placed travel restrictions on 13 countries with more than 1,000 cases of Coronavirus. And concerted efforts are being made to combat the spread of the virus.
