Cross River beats COVID-19

• Discharges lone patient in full health

From Aniekan Aniekan, Calabar

Cross River State Government has announced that it has been declared COVID-19 free following the successful treatment and discharge of its only confirmed case.

The State Commissioner for Health, Henry Ayuk, disclosed that the patient was discharged on May 1 in excellent health after testing negative, bringing an end to the state’s only recorded infection since the case was confirmed on April 16 at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital.

“We activated our public health emergency response immediately,” Ayuk said, noting that the state moved swiftly to contain the situation.

According to him, the Emergency Operations Centre coordinated a rapid response in collaboration with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and the World Health Organization, carrying out extensive contact tracing, clinical monitoring, and testing of all exposed persons.

He confirmed that none of the identified contacts developed symptoms or tested positive for the virus.

Ayuk attributed the success to prompt intervention and strong collaboration with key partners, including the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, the Federal Ministry of Health Nigeria, the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, UNICEF, and WHO.

The commissioner also commended Governor Bassey Edet Otu for providing the political will and resources that ensured an effective response.

He added that the state’s Public Health Department and Emergency Operations Centre remain on high alert to detect and respond to any future public health threats.

Cross River has maintained a reputation for aggressive disease containment since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020, with officials stating that the latest development reinforces the state’s track record in managing public health emergencies.