The Officials, Supporters and Athletes of the just concluded Olympics held in Brazil said no health officials came to screen them when they arrived Nigeria despite the warning by the global health authorities that Nigeria may be the first African country to contract the disease.
An athlete who boarded the South African Airways back to Nigeria said passengers on the flight were not medically screened on arrival at the Muritala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos.
In his words, “I had expected that the airport officials would ask for our details as we landed in Lagos or fill a passenger form but that they did not do that. All that we did was the customs’ verification and we were out. The security details and the majority of officials at the arrival wing were more excited about welcoming the coach, Samson Siasia and the other players.
“I would have loved to be screened to address any fear I may have nursed about the possibility of being infected. At least, they should have taken our details or done a temperature check like they did during the Ebola outbreak.”
A journalist who boarded the same flight from Sao Paolo spoke about the negligence by saying that it was a strong contrast when compared to the situation he encountered in South American country.
“The organisers of the Olympics gave us kits that had mosquito-repellent creams, insecticides to spray our rooms and they kept spraying the camps where we were slept just to ensure that we were not bitten by mosquitoes.
“Even if Nigeria has not recorded a case yet, we are still vulnerable because Nigerians travel a lot especially to Brazil,” he added.
Other vulnerable countries listed in the study are India, China, the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Pakistan and Bangladesh