No fewer than six officials of the Nigeria Customs Service have tested positive for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at the Apapa Area Command, according to findings by SHIPS & PORTS.
The infection was said to have spread among the officers after the index case, a senior official attached to the command, was detected “sometimes last month”, according to a source.
The source said most of the cases are mild while a “couple of them” have recovered from the virus.
Public Relations Officer of the command, Nkiru Nwala, who confirmed the development, however, did not specify the number of officers infected.
She said necessary protocols in line with the guidelines issued by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) were observed, while “normalcy has returned to the command”.
The development, according to SHIPS & PORTS findings, caused panic at the command while the management tried to manage the situation.
Some clearing agents operating at the command expressed concerns over the likelihood of community transmission of the virus.
Recall that in a Customs officer, Assistant Controller G.A. Bamigboye, died of COVID-19 complications at the Inland Container Depot, Kano in April.