With companies in the nation’s maritime sector reporting cases of COVID-19, government agencies in the sector have started sending members of staffs in large numbers to the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC) for testing.
Recall that the maiden COVID-19 case in the industry was recorded when a staff of Ports and Cargo Handling Terminal at Tin Can Island Port recently tested positive to after his father-in-law had tested positive to the virus.
Subsequently, an employee of AP Moller Terminals Apapa tested positive to COVID-19.
The growing cases in the sector appears to have forced government agencies to send their staff for testing.
Last week, a maritime journalist who visited the NCDC office in Lagos was shocked to find three buses and a hilux van conveying staff of Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) for testing.
“I was told all the parastatals in Apapa have been given dates. In fact NCDC officers would ask you about your travel experience in Lagos and particularly ask if you visited Apapa recently,” the source said.
He noted that Apapa has been described as having high COVID-19 cases and agencies within the port have begun to tremble as the spread of the virus increases.
