Table 1.
COVID-19 preparedness and response public health actions/interventions in Nigeria, January – May 2020
| Outbreak phase | Public actions/health interventions | Strategy |
|---|---|---|
|
Pre-outbreak (January 1 – February 27) |
• Inauguration of multisectoral National Coronavirus Preparedness Group (CPG) by NCDC |
Prevention |
| • Inauguration of inter-Ministerial Coordination Committee by Honourable Minister for Health | ||
| • Review of Nigeria’s Pandemic Influenza Preparedness and Response Plan | ||
| • Activation of interim Medical Countermeasure Plan | ||
| • Conduct of table-top Logistic Capacity Assessment for COVID-19 | ||
| • Training and capacity building of health care workers on infection prevention and control (IPC), sample collection and testing and clinical management of COVID-19 | ||
| • Designation of three molecular Laboratories for COVID-19 testing | ||
| • Designation of COVID-19 treatment centres | ||
| • Points of Entry (PoE) surveillance at international borders including airports and land crossings | ||
| • Conduct of COVID-19 simulation exercise | ||
|
Outbreak (February 27 – May 31) | ||
|
Stemming initial cases (February 27 – March 17) |
• Inauguration of national multisectoral COVID-19 Emergency Operation Centre (EOC) |
Containment |
| • Development of national Incident Action Plan and State Pre-Incident Action Plan | ||
| • Development of guidelines for surveillance, IPC, case management, schools, mass gatherings etc. | ||
| • Pre-positioning of COVID-19 response materials in 36 States and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) | ||
| • Genetic sequencing of the index case conducted | ||
| • Establishment of Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 | ||
| • Deployment of Rapid Response Teams (RRTs) to support response activities in Lagos and Ogun | ||
| • Tracing of contact of confirmed cases | ||
| • Points of entry screening in high priority states with international airports including Lagos State | ||
| • Intensive risk communication including press releases, radio jingles, media appearances, social media | ||
| • Establishment of NCDC COVID-19 microsite | ||
|
Addressing initial clusters of cases (March 18 – April 10) |
• Implementation of domestic and international travel restriction |
Suppression/Containment |
| • Strengthening and expansion of COVID-19 laboratory diagnostic capacity from five to 18 | ||
| • Strengthening and expansion of COVID-19 treatment centres | ||
| • Domestic and international travel restrictions | ||
| • Lockdown of non-essential activities and stay-at-home orders in the FCT, Lagos and Ogun States | ||
| • Implementation of community active case search in Lagos and FCT | ||
| Focus on community transmission (April 11 – To Date) | • Revision of the national case definition to increase case detection |
Mitigation |
| • Inter-State border screening in FCT, Lagos, and Ogun States | ||
| • Mid-action review meeting conducted | ||
| • Mandatory institutional quarantine and testing for international returnees | ||