He said this on Monday in Abuja, during a ministerial bi-weekly meeting on the update of COVID-19 response and development in the country’s health sector.

According to him, when there is an outbreak of any flu or disease anywhere in the world, WHO will announce it to the world and send an advisory on how it can be handled, but there is no such alert in the case of the strange flu.

“So the Ministry of Health finds the message going round in social media, odd and strange.

By default, when there is an outbreak of any flu or disease anywhere we will hear it first from WHO and WHO has not said anything about it, we will also hear from the US Centre for Disease Control, but there’s nothing like that also from there and we have not even read anything from the Chinese people.

“Usually, their embassy will send somebody to come and inform us if there is anything. So I begin to wonder about the authenticity of that paper going around the place because up till today no confirmation of anything like that,” he said.

The minister also said that foreign media outlets were also silent about the flu from China, an indication that the news making the rounds is a fabrication.

He, however, said that the Federal Government is on the lookout for anything suspicious.

“This is a season where people generate stories, throw them into the media and everybody starts panicking, whilst those who generated such stories are laughing at the chaos that they have created.

“So we are watching the situation, everything we hear we take seriously, but I want to assure you again that any outbreak of such a character, first of all, is announced by WHO, they will then send us advisory and information about it.

The US CDC, the equivalent of CDC in the UK, in Europe, they have not said anything. So reports of that nature I also want you to take with a big pinch of salt,” he added.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that there had been trending reports that amid the resurgence of COVID-19 in China, there had been an outbreak of an unknown deadly flu in China, which has led to the death of residents, including three Nigerians.

According to the reports, though the initial clinical analysis ruled out COVID-19, the symptoms of the fatal flu include dry throat, fever and difficulty in breathing.

Speaking about Diphtheria, a disease which broke out recently and has spread to four states with 123 confirmed cases and 38 deaths, Ehanire said everyone had a joint responsibility to address diseases.

He, however, said it was the responsibility of the Federal and State Governments to address particular diseases as they break out and that the Federal Government through the Ministry of Health was doing its part.

“I want to assure you that every disease outbreak everywhere is given full attention by this ministry and nothing is left that is our duty to do that we do not do, but I will also expect all states to carry out their own responsibility.

“They need to play their role in managing some of the social fallout.

“Also, every single person who has appeared in our hospitals has received treatment and no one has been turned back because they didn’t have money,” he added.

The government further stressed that it will provide the necessary incentives to make migration unattractive for the doctors.

The Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire said this on Friday in Abuja after inspecting work on the new cancer centre at the National Hospital, Abuja, NAN reports.

“I have heard the challenge of doctors leaving the country. We have plans to provide better funding for our hospitals in Nigeria and make such migration unattractive,” he said.

The minister also said that the hospital performed well during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country, pledging that the government will do everything possible to ensure that doctors will prefer to remain and work in country.

Speaking further, the minister advised the hospital management to spend wisely, properly maintain the facilities when completed and seek alternative sources of funding.

He praised the hospital administrators for its prompt services to patients and advised them to be prepared for a possible resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic as other countries are now experiencing.

“Schools are resuming, people are travelling in and out the country so we must be prepared for any emergency,” he warned.

Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire disclosed this on Friday during the Russia’s Ambassador to Nigeria, Alexey Shebarshin, visit to the ministry in Abuja, who delivered the samples to him.

This was contained in a statement signed by the ministry’s Director of Information, Media, and Public Relations, Olujimi Oyetomi.

The statement was titled, ‘Russian Federation Ambassador to Nigeria, H.E. Alexey L. Shebarshin on courtesy visit to Nigeria’s Health Ministers, Russian-made COVID-19 Vaccine finally here.’

Ehanire on Friday also said the vaccine would be “quickly referred” to the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control as well as the Nigeria Institute of Pharmaceutical Research and Development, amongst other agencies, for review and possible validation.

The need for a vaccine has become more urgent globally and nationally with Nigeria recording over 50,000 COVID-19 infections and over 1,000 associated fatalities, according to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control.

Oyetomi, in the statement, said the Russian envoy said he was at the Health Ministry “to formally hand over the Russian-made Vaccine against COVID-19 to Nigeria with an aide memoir which explains the details for Nigerian teams to study and get ready for further researches, patronage and application.”

The spokesperson also quoted the minister of health as saying, “Nigeria has been participating in series of knowledge exchange and contacts with different research bodies and countries to find solutions to the COVID-19 challenge and had contacted the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Nigeria for right of access immediately the Russian COVID-19 Vaccine was announced.”

“The consensus of decision reached was to quickly refer the vaccine to the necessary professional institutes and agencies of the Federal Ministry of Health beginning with NAFDAC, NIPRD, and for a team of scientists and advisors to the ministry to get to work on possible patronage of the Russian vaccine to alleviate the plight of Nigerians amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“A Ministerial Team is also expected to be raised to continue further engagement with the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Nigeria on the vaccine as well as other areas of interests highlighted at the meeting,” the statement concluded.

The Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, disclosed this during the daily briefing of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 in Abuja on Thursday.

Ehanire said, “Nigeria is also working with the World Health Organisation to finalise enrolment with the ACT – Access To COVID-19 Tools Accelerator, a global mechanism tracking and sponsoring global organisations working on COVID-19 vaccine development.

“We also have interest in the COVAX Facility, which is a Gavi-supported initiative to procure and assure equitable access to vaccines as soon as they are available, especially for lower-income countries.

“This will prioritise Nigeria for an allocation of a part of 2 billion vaccine doses that will be secured in a special plan to protect the interest of poorer countries.”

The country currently has over 50,000 COVID-19 infections and about 1,000 death, according to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, latest update on Wednesday night, August 19.