The Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, on Thursday, insisted that the 15-member Chinese Medics are not its guests but the staff of the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC).
He therefore, said that it is not its responsibility to tell the whereabouts of the Chinese team as they are on a company Visa.
Speaking during the daily briefing of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, in Abuja, Ehanire said: “I think not all of them were doctors and I heard that some of them are technicians, but they are staff of CCECC.
“The Ministry of Health is not their host, so we can’t always explain what happened to them or where they are. There seems to be a lot of interest in these doctors. But they are the staff of the company and I think that they are on a company Visa.
“I will be very happy if you don’t ask me about where they are because they are not really our guests.
“But we have been able to learn some things from them by interacting with them from their experience in their country and they did tell us and we shared ideas on what they did in their country in managing COVID-19.”
Recall that the Chinese Medical team arrived the country on the 8th of April, 2020, and went on to observe the 14-days mandatory quarantine monitored by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) in a location they chose.
Also, the Managing Director of CCECC Nigeria, Micheal Jiang, in a statement, explained that the primary purpose of the working team is to escort the medical supply that China donated to Nigeria, provide guidance for their usage and distribution, and provide CCECC employees with critical and necessary healthcare assistance where necessary.
He stressed that the team is not coming to treat COVID-19 patients in Nigeria.
Concerning the conditions for self-isolation for returnees, the Minister said it is seriously considering it and will follow the guidelines developed by the NCDC to carry it out. Also, only those who meet certain criteria will be permitted to self-isolate.
He said: “The self-isolate at home is an option we have been talking about. The NCDC has released a guideline for that but not everybody is eligible for that. The National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA) has come up with a very beautiful contribution that creates circumstances under which it is safe for some people who have undergone certain questionnaires to be at home but definitely supervised self-isolation.
“Recent returnees from the United Kingdom, United States of America, and Dubai are still undergoing their routine 14 days of quarantine and there is no report yet because they are still under observation. After 10 or 11 days, they will have their test done to show who is positive or not
