NPA Sensitizes Port Stakeholders on Corona Virus, As APMT Terminals Provide Sanitizers

The Nigerian Port Authority (NPA) last weekend held a sensitisation programme for port stakeholders on the prevention of

Corona Virus, even as the authority announced that isolation centres are now being built around the country in collaboration with State Governments.

This is even as the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) has rated one of the terminal operators; AP Moller Terminal as the best performing in terms of workers sensitisation on the virus and provision of necessarily kits and hand sanitizers to all dock workers.

Speaking at the sensitisation programme organised mainly for terminal operators, General Manager Medical Services of NPA, Mrs Christy Akpa said the authority is already making arrangement for isolation centres to hold the people that are sick on board vessels.

She added that the NPA has also placed on red alert, vessels that are coming from Asia, even as she maintained that the authority is fully prepared to combat the virus.

According to her “I want to assure the whole nation that NPA is well prepared to handle any incident of suspected case of corona virus on board any that shows symptoms of corona virus, we are highly collaborating g with port health services of Federal  Ministry of health and we are also in collaboration with the Lagos state government through the commissioner of health and I want to assure everyone that we are screening temperatures of every port users.

“we are also working with port health to ensure that all the crew on board are administered the passengers declaration form and also we have develop a weekly log  knowing th incubation period of this corona virus, so we don’t just scan your temperature, once like that, we are constantly monitoring and keeping this log on daily basis, even when there is no confirmed incident

“We have already heighten our alert on ship that are coming from Iran, Taiwan China or any other countries that have been affected by this virus”

“We are making arrangement for isolation centres to hold this people that are sick while we bring in the state government that will isolate and take them to isolation centres with dedicated isolation ambulances”

 “We have already heightened our alert on ships that are coming from Iran, Taiwan China or any other countries that have been affected by this virus”

“When this ship berth, we don’t just leave them, we continue to monitor until the ship sail out of our territorial waters. It is mandatory that we continue to monitor to ensure that we fight this virus.” she said

Also speaking, General Manager Corporate and Strategic Communications NPA, Engr. Adams Jatto stated emphatically that the authority is on ground to fully combat the spread of the disease at the port, while adding that the collaboration between the NPA and the terminal operators will forestall the spread of the virus at the nation seaport.

In his words “We are aware that the  virus is spreading round the world in a very rapid form and of course there is need for us to curtail it, and we have  been informed that there is no cure to this disease and the best thing for us to do is to have a precautionary preventive  measure for us to ensure that it does not spread, so on the basis of this  we have to call the terminal operators and of course  the stakeholders  for us to rub minds together and see how best we can do to curtail this menace.

“Of course, we have done a lot of things on the part of Nigerian Port Authority to ensure we preventive the spread of this disease, as we know the port is one of the entry point into the country, that is why we deem it fit for us to discuss what we have done, and of course what is expected of the terminal operators for them to be able to curtail this menace”

“We have had collaborative efforts for us to fight this disease, we have seen what terminal operators have done, and the necessary medical materials are in each of the terminals.

“We have been told they have sanitizers’ as preventive measure for dock workers who access the vessels and there are things they said we should do which I believe the management will be able to take care of that” he said.