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Tony John, Port Harcourt
Rivers State Government has said there is no confirmed case of the Novel Coronavirus in the state contrary to a social media story.
Speaking Thursday night in Port Harcourt as a guest on a Rhythm 93.7FM radio programme, the Rivers State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Paulinus Nsirim said the claim on social media was the handiwork of mischief makers who seek to cause unnecessary panic in the State.
“This is because by the time a declaration of the existence of the Coronavirus can be made, certain protocols have to be observed and steps taken before the state government, through the relevant agencies, will announce it,” he said.
“You cannot talk about this COVID-19 as a medical practitioner without evidence. The protocol to establish that is known by every medical practitioner. So, if a medical practitioner would go and make a categorical statement about such a matter, then we’ll have to question where the person got his certificate.”
Nsirim continued: “Explaining the protocols to be observed before a case of Coronavirus could be declared, the State Commissioner for Health, Professor Princewill Chike, stated that it starts with taking a suspected case to any of the Teaching Hospitals in the state, from where all other protocols take place.
“If you notice, or suspect (any person), the normal thing is that the person is sent to the Teaching Hospitals in Rivers State (University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, or Rivers State University Teaching Hospital).
“From that spot, the Rapid Response Team of the Rivers State Ministry of Health, the Emergency Operations Centre is at alert 24 hours, and they will come and take it up from there, the Health Commissioner said.”
He explained further that in the process of diagnosis, certain key protocols are to be followed to the letter to properly identify suspected cases.
Throwing more light on the case in question, Prof Chike said everything was currently being done in terms of undergoing necessary protocols to ascertain what it is, adding that it is premature to announce that the state has witnessed a case of Coronavirus.
“From that time the Ministry of Health was informed, we went in and everything has been done. The patient has been attended to. The state we are in Rivers State is the ‘alert phase’.
“This stage is the stage at which thorough precautionary checks are put in place to identify any semblance of the virus, to enable prompt steps to be taken to prevent any outbreak, should any case be noticed.
Explaining further, the Director, Public Health, Disease and Control, in the State Ministry of Health, Dr Golden Owondah, said the protocols taken towards identifying the Coronavirus has been made universal by the World Health Organisation (WHO), from the point of registering the suspected case with the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), where WHO monitors the protocols and at the end of the day decides what it is.
“You cannot, even as a state, be talking about a confirmed case [of Coronavirus] until these necessary protocols have been established. So, somebody who goes on social media to begin to talk about a case of COVID-19 doesn’t even understand first the protocol, the gravity, or what the person is doing to create panic in the system,” the information Commissioner emphasised.
According to him, the Rivers State Government is doing everything possible to ensure that COVID-19 is totally prevented from spreading into the state or across the state.
“Just to let you know, the Rivers State Government is desirous to ensure that preventive measures get to the required level,” he said.
Nsirim continued: “Towards this end, at the end of the today’s State Executive Council meeting, a five-man executive committee, made up of five commissioners, was set up to create more enlightenment in the State.
“The State EXCO set up a five-man Exco Committee to embark on aggressive enlightenment [campaign] because the government wants to make Rivers State safe for our people. Beginning from tomorrow, we’re going to involve all the media houses.
“It’s a government that is responsive. Government is not just waiting for an outburst before embarking on this kind of sensitisation,” he said,
Nsirim added: “For now, that information circulating on social media is not correct.”
