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 other 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 w 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.
Read Also: Pharma Chiefs Expect Coronavirus Vaccine In 12-18 Months
“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 skeletal 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.
THE SUN, NIGERIA
