Coronavirus: Soldiers, policemen run for cover as Chinese woman vomits in Lagos Immigration office

There was pandemonium Friday afternoon at  the Immigration office, Alagbon Close, Lagos,  as a Chinese woman fell down and started vomiting.

Passport seekers, immigration officers, visitors ,including Policemen and military personnel took to their heels on sighting the woman.

Many people were injured while others lost their documents as they scampered for safety .

An Immigration officer who spoke on the condition of anonymity said it was as if death had visited the place as  workers and visitors  ran for safety.

“The lady came to the operations department for some visa issues, she wore  mask when she came  on Thursday ,but she could not finish with what she came to do. She repeated her visit  today( Friday) ,but this time around ,she did not masked her face. As she was being attended to, she started feeling dizzy, fell down and  started coughing and vomiting. My brother , everybody took to his or her heels’’, he  declared.

Continuing, he said: “The worst of it all was that her relations wanted to take her away, but our officers prevented them.

“We were able to kit ourselves and took her to a room. But those who were not courageous enough hurriedly closed for the day while people who came for one transaction or the other abandoned whatever they came to do.

“The worst thing is that we have been calling health emergency numbers and they have been promising that they were coming  but we are yet to see them, but we are keeping vigil until they come. We won’t let her go.

While adding that the woman kept insisting that nothing was wrong with her, the officer said she would not be allowed to go  until  health officers  carry out comprehensive check on her.

“We are not saying that she has the virus ,but with the symptoms  she was exhibiting, ,we won’t let her go till medical experts examine her .Yes, we are handing her over to the appropriate office and not to her embassy”, he declared.

A visitor to the Immigration Office who witnessed the drama, John Madu, said: “I only came to make enquiry when I saw people running helter skelter and I joined in the rat race. I was later told that a Chinese woman fell down and started vomiting. My fear is that they said she was also there the previous day. If she test positive to the virus ,how will the government locate those that she would have had contacts with. We are lucky because people were not as many as they used to be in the office because of the travels ban to certain countries. Before now, people used to  visit the place in their hundreds, but there were not up 100 people at the scene’’.

As at 5 pm,  emergency health workers being expected were yet to arrive the Immigration office while heavily armed Immigration officers were  keeping  her under close surveillance.