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Timothy Olanrewaju, Maiduguri
Edo Commissioner for Health, Dr. Patrick Okundia, at the weekend, said Edo State was making steady progress in the management of coronavirus (COVID-19), noting that the remaining eight active cases of COVID-19 were being managed at different isolation centres across the state and were responding well to treatment.
Speaking to journalists in Benin City, he said Edo had discharged six persons who have tested negative twice to the virus, and another 387 persons, comprising 105 persons of interest (POIs) and 282 line-listed contacts, who tested negative and have completed the compulsory 14-day follow-up.
The commissioner noted that the multi-pronged strategy of the Governor Godwin Obaseki-led administration in handling the pandemic was yielding positive results, adding that the state was scaling up facility-based screening across the 18 local government areas (LGAs) and commencing mobile, community-based screening for COVID-19 in Oredo LGA, to obtain data on how to further contain the virus.
“While Edo has recorded 15 confirmed cases of COVID-19, we have discharged six patients who tested negative twice for the virus. The remaining eight cases are still on active treatment and are responding well to treatment. Four of the cases are receiving treatment and follow-up at home, while one is presently at Stella Obasanjo Hospital Isolation Centre, Benin; two are at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin City, and one at Irrua Specialist Hospital. So far, the state has had 100 per cent recovery from the cases admitted and managed at our isolation facilities.
“As we celebrate the successes recorded in the management of COVID-19 in our dear state, it is pertinent to note that compliance with the government’s stay-at-home and social distancing directives, as well as other precautionary measures, are non-negotiable in the fight against the spread of the virus. Wash your hands regularly with soap under running water, use alcohol-based sanitizers, and try to get screened at any of our centres across the state. If you must go out, wear facemasks and avoid large gathering of persons.”
In Borno, Deputy Governor Umar Kadafur has urged the people of the state not to panic over the death of a medical worker suspected to have coronavirus.
Kadafur told newsmen in Maiduguri yesterday that speculation over the death of a nurse working with MSF in Pulka, Gwoza LGA, should be regarded as mere speculation pending the outcome of the test.
“His sample has been taken, and we are waiting for the result from the NCDC. People, particularly the media, should be patient and stop preempting the result,” he said.
