Delta variant: Over 10,000 inbound travellers shun COVID-19 test, isolation

By ENIOLA AKINKUOTU, DEBORAH TOLU-KOLAWOLE and GODFREY GEORGE

•Infection rate worsens at entry points, rises by 32% in one week – NCDC
•NSA rejects Israeli contact-tracing technology proposed by Aregbesola

Over 10,000 inbound travellers from overseas have shunned the compulsory COVID-19 testing and isolation after arriving in Nigeria, Sunday PUNCH can report.

This came as the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control data showed that the number of confirmed cases had risen to 170,623 and 2,131 deaths as of Saturday, July 24, 2021.

Sunday PUNCH analysis showed that over 10,000 travellers failed to show up for testing or to isolate after arriving in the country through the two main air gateways, the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, and the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

The Federal Government, through the NCDC, has insisted that the states should be in charge of contact tracing.

While over 9,000 inbound Lagos travellers shunned testing, no fewer than 1,000 inbound Abuja passengers shunned testing, bringing the figure to over 10,000.

According to the Federal Government’s COVID-19 protocol, passengers arriving the country are mandated to proceed on seven days self isolation, after which they are to report at a designated laboratory to undergo a COVID-19 test.

All inbound passengers are made to pay for the COVID-19 test in their country of origin or at the Nigerian airports on arrival.

Government reports have, however, shown that thousands of passengers are shunning testing after paying for such.

The Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, had said two weeks ago that 18 per cent of passengers who arrived in Lagos through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport could not be traced for COVID-19 isolation and testing.

He said that between May 8, 2021, and July 7, 2021, a space of two months, a total of 50,322 passengers of interest arrived in Lagos via the airport.

This implies that at least 9,057 inbound travellers absconded within three months.

“Of the 50,322 passengers, 18 per cent could not be reached by EKOTELEMED because of the provision of either wrong numbers or wrong Nigerian contact details to be reached on,” Sanwo-Olu said.

“Going forward, passengers that do not provide the right details, including a phone number they can be reached for monitoring and an address for isolation will face serious sanctions, including fines and imprisonment according to our Lagos State Coronavirus Law of 2021,” he added.

Also, sources in Abuja told this newspaper that the Federal Capital Territory was facing a similar challenge like Lagos because it received the second-highest number of foreign travellers after Lagos.

According to health officials, the figure is far over 1,000, from an estimate of over 10,000 passengers that arrived at the airport in the past two months.

But the Chairman, Medical Sub-Committee of the COVID-19 Ministerial Expert Advisory Committee in Abuja, Dr Ejike Oji, said he did not know the exact number of travellers evading testing and isolation.

Oji, however, called on port health services to ensure that persons coming from high-risk countries were properly identified.

He also said the contact details such as phone numbers and addresses of such persons should be taken.

“I think the port health services that make the first contact with travellers must ensure that the right details are obtained from them as this will help in tracking,” Oji added.

Meanwhile, fresh facts have emerged on how the National Security Adviser, Major General Babagana Monguno (retd), allegedly rejected a proposal by the Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, to procure a technology that would enhance the tracing of in-bound passengers refusing to isolate and come forward for testing.

The technology, known as the Coronavirus Contact Tracing System, owned by an Israeli firm, was embraced by Aregbesola, whose ministry oversees the Nigeria Immigration Service – the agency of government that takes record of all persons coming into the country.

According to a letter with reference number HMI/017/Vol. II/105 written by Aregbesola and addressed to the Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, Boss Mustapha, the technology could assist the government with contact tracing, a key strategy towards containing the virus.

The technology, according to Aregbesola, is capable of revealing the travel history of an inbound passenger such that even persons who come from COVID-19 infested countries would be easily identified. The system leverages phone users’ real-time and historical location data.

Using the unique identities of smartphones, the technology can reveal all persons an infected traveller could have come in contact with.

The system can also alert authorities when there is a gathering of over 50 persons within a small space, especially in churches, mosques and other enclosed places where social gatherings take place.

It can also inform the authorities when a person who is supposed to be in isolation steps out of their registered address.

Aregbesola’s letter read in part, “The Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 is invited to note the ability of this system to facilitate contact tracing especially in a largely informal country like Nigeria. This would further go a long way in curtailing the spread of the virus.

“Note that with over 140 million mobile phone users in the country, with over 70 per cent being smartphones, the system is capable of assisting the government to reduce the spread of the virus through prompt information dissemination and ultimately win the war.”

The minister further advised the task force, which has now been converted to a steering committee, to seriously consider the technology.

“The Ministry of Interior is recommending to the Presidential task force that the vendor of this technology be engaged for further necessary action towards procuring this technology which would significantly help in fast-tracking the contact tracing of COVID-19 carriers,” it read.

Sunday PUNCH learnt that the Israeli firm also made a presentation before the task force and offered to entrust the technology in the care of immigration

The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, who was said to have been impressed with the proposal, was said to have forwarded the letter to the NSA who immediately shut it down, citing security concerns.

A top member of the task force said, “The NSA said he did not want a foreign country to have such access to Nigerian information even though he was informed that even the United Arab Emirates had also embraced the Israeli technology while Singapore and Australia had also adopted it.

“The NSA was also informed that the technology adheres to the European Union General Data Protection Regulation but he rejected the proposal based on the fact that he had his own preferred choice. However, over a year after the proposal, the NSA has not been able to get the needed technology for contact tracing.

“Instead, the National Intelligence Agency, which is under the NSA’s supervision, is seeking N4.8bn to monitor WhatsApp and Thuraya, a contract which will also be given to a foreign company. Now, Nigeria is on the verge of another wave of COVID-19.”

Inbound passengers infection rate worsens at entry points

…rises by 32% in one week

Meanwhile, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control has recorded a 32 per cent increase in the number of positive COVID-19 cases among inbound passengers tested at entry points into Nigeria within the past week.

This was contained in the latest epidemiological COVID-19 situation report released by the NCDC on Saturday.

The number of positive cases from inbound passengers rose from 81 (July 5-11) to 107 (July 12-19), signifying a 32 per cent increase.

The report also revealed that there was a significant increase in the number of outbound passengers as 126 intending passengers to other countries tested positive to COVID-19 within July 12 and July 19.

The number of infected cases also increased from 693 between July 5 and July 11 to 966 between July 12 and July 19.

According to the report, there was an improvement in the number of cases tested from 36,965 between July 5 and July 11 to 42,068 between July 12 and July 19.

Eight states, however, performed poorly, testing less than 20 people in a week.

The states with their corresponding number of tests are: Kebbi (0), Kogi (4), Nasarawa (16), Sokoto (13), Taraba (0), Yobe (2), and Zamfara (0).

The NCDC Director-General, Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, called for caution on the dangerous Delta variant detected in Nigeria.

He said, “Given the high transmissibility of the Delta variant and following its detection in Nigeria, NCDC urges all Nigerians to ensure strict adherence to public health and social measures in place.

“Proven public health and social measures such as physical distancing, frequent handwashing, and proper use of face masks, prevent infections and save lives.

“The COVID-19 vaccine is safe and effective and offers protection against the disease.

“Additionally, states are urged to ensure sample collection and testing for COVID-19 is accessible to the public.

“Public settings such as schools with accommodation facilities, workplaces and camps should utilise the approved Antigen based Rapid Diagnostic Test for rapid testing of their population.”

The Delta variant, also known as B.1.617.2, can spread more easily, according to the United States Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

Researchers have said that the Delta variant is about 50 per cent more contagious than the Alpha variant, which was first identified in the United Kingdom, according to The Washington Post.

Alpha, also known as B.1.1.7, was already 50 per cent more contagious than the original coronavirus first identified in China in 2019, WebMD reports.

Public health experts estimate that the average person who gets infected with Delta spread it to three or four other people, as compared with one or two other people through the original coronavirus strain, according to Yale Medicine.

The Delta variant may also be able to escape protection from vaccines and some COVID-19 treatments, though studies are still ongoing.

The Delta variant was first identified in India in December 2020 and led to major outbreaks in the country. It then spread rapidly and is now reported in 104 countries, according to a CDC tracker.

As of early July, Delta has become the dominant form of the coronavirus in the US, UK, Germany, and other countries.

In the UK, for instance, the Delta variant now makes up more than 97 per cent of new COVID-19 cases, according to Public Health England. Scientists are still tracking the data to determine how deadly it is.

People who have not been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 are most at risk, Yale Medicine reports.

In the US, communities with low vaccination rates have seen a jump in cases, WebMD says.

There may be new lockdown if vaccines arrive late, says NMA

Meanwhile, the Lagos State Chairman, Committee on Infectious Diseases, Nigerian Medical Association, and Medical Officer of Health, Apapa Iganmu Local Council Development Area, Dr Japhet Olugbogi, has said Lagos State Government may have to lock down the city again just like it did in the first wave if the COVID-19 vaccines arrived late.

Olugbogi told Sunday PUNCH in an exclusive interview during the week against the backdrop of the ravaging Delta variant of the coronavirus. The Delta variant is fast sweeping through states as seen in the spike of figures in the past week.

Earlier in July, the Federal Government disclosed that it was expecting 41 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines by the end of September 2021.

The expected dose is a combination of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines.

Olugbogi said, “If we keep shifting vaccination from one country to the other, the virus would keep spreading, and that would be calamitous for us as a people. We are talking about a Delta variant now, but there is a Delta Plus variant already in some countries. We need to prevent the worst from happening.

“If we are having a plus-variant in some other countries and we don’t vaccinate on time here in Nigeria, we can even have a worse strain soon in the country. We need to be more aggressive in our vaccination plan. This is not a joke.

“We had a lockdown because of the other strains of the virus in the first and second waves; we may have to lock down again because of the Delta Plus variant or even the Delta variant, which is here because of the unavailability of vaccines and the carelessness on the part of the people. We pray we don’t get there. We pray we are able to deal with it, just as we dealt with the first and second waves. Else, we may be having another lockdown.”

Olugbogi asked that the Federal Government should go all out to get the COVID-19 vaccines as quickly as possible, as the cases keep rising on a daily basis.

He said, “This is one of the reasons why NMA and other bodies are encouraging the Federal Government to go all out to ensure that we procure vaccines for the general public. This cannot happen if there are no vaccines available. The government should try to make sure we get these vaccines.

“We would all be free from this virus when the whole world has vaccinated at least 60 to 70 per cent of its population. For third world countries, we don’t see that happening in a couple of years because we are not rich enough to produce vaccines in Nigeria or Africa. We cannot compete with world giants to buy these vaccines for our populace. We always wait for COVAX and other organisations to donate vaccines to us.”  (Adapted from Sunday PUNCH)