LASG is looking for all passengers onboard Turkish Airlines with infected Italian. Here's why

The Lagos State Government is on the hunt for all the passengers that arrived Lagos on the February 24 flight that had the Italian man- Nigeria's first coronavirus case onboard.

The reason for this massive nationwide search is due to false information provided on the health declaration form issued by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority.



According to the Commissioner for Health of Lagos State, Prof. Akin Abayomi, they may have hit a brick wall in identifying all the passengers on that flight because a significant number of people deliberately put false information on the form on arrival which has now made it impossible for Lagos State Ministry of Health to reach these individuals.

Worst off is that Turkish Airlines is not complying with the ministry in helping it identify all the passengers aboard that flight. If they did, the commissioner would not make this public SOS call, MyNigeria.com suggests.

"We have managed to identify all the contacts but we are having issues with the airline. A significant number of people have put false information on the form on arrival which makes it impossible for us to reach these individuals. We would like to appeal to the general community that these forms were developed for our own safety and precaution against transmission of this infection to the community," Abayomi said in a video posted on Twitter.



Abayomi explained the importance of the health declaration form administered by the NCAA which was to assist in contact tracing. He urged passengers to turn up for testing as soon as possible.

"You may not be aware that there was a positive case on that flight. And therefore it is important that we are able to reach you and give you this information so that if you develop symptoms, we know exactly what it might be. It is in your self-interest that you give us correct information on these forms and it is your civic responsibility to fill out this information accurately.

"If you are on the Turkish Airline on the 24th of February, the flight number is TK 625 Istanbul to Lagos, please give us a call on the number we are about to advertise. Or if in fact you know somebody that was on that flight. We may already have their contacts but we may not," Abayomi warned.

Update on #COVID19...Pt.2@ProfAkinAbayomi pic.twitter.com/RhFvBIvdez

— Babajide Sanwo-Olu (@jidesanwoolu) March 7, 2020

Recall that the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority ordered all airlines operating International and Regional flights into Nigeria to issue Health Declaration forms to their passengers including crew members before arriving Nigerian airports, MyNigeria.com reported this.

This is coming after some airlines operating International and Regional flights into Nigeria failed to provide Health Declaration Forms (Passengers self-reporting forms).

Failure to issue Health Declaration Forms will attract sanctions, the regulator warned.

Meanwhile, As of March 6, there are only 21 suspected cases of #COVID19 across Lagos, Ogun Kano and FCT. Only 1 case has tested positive to COVID19,” a statement from the Federal Ministry of Health read