Abia State Governor, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu, has spoken on the identities of the two index cases in the state.
According to him, they are both indigenes and have never travelled outside the state.
This is as he announced that the hospitals that were treating both cases have been closed down.
Ikpeaze, who confirmed that doctors and nurses of the hospitals located at Umuahia North and Ukwa West local government areas of the state were quarantined at a press conference on Tuesday April 21, said it was necessary to determine their health status.
He further revealed that the processes and protocols of shutting down the hospitals were being followed strictly, even as he asserted that the names of the COVID-19 patients would not be disclosed to avoid stigmatization. The Governor however said one of the Coronavirus patients is from Umuahia North, while the other is from Ukwa West LGA.
The governor explained that the Inter-Ministerial Committee on COVID-19 would begin a community to community contact tracing, as the two victims had no history of travelling abroad or outside their vicinity except moving round their villages. The inter-ministerial committee will cover Umuahia North, Ukwa West and Ikwuano LGAs where the COVID-19 victims had contact with some persons.
“This means that some people in their communities may have contracted and got them infected and that’s why we should quickly move into the villages and communities to do this contact tracing in order to identify those they were in contact with them before they were tested”
The Federal Medical Center in Umuahia has also debunked claim of one of its doctors dying of Coronavirus.
According to the management of the hospital, the late doctor resumed as a house officer 5 days ago and had no symptom of Coronavirus before his death. He reportedly died of cardiac related disease and not COVID-19.
It said in a statement:
Following the two COVID-19 confirmed cases in Federal Medical Centre Umuahia, I am directed to state as follows :
-That the Drresumed work as a House Officer just five days ago.
-That he died of cardiac related disease, not COVID-19.
-That there was no symptom of COVID-19 before his death.
The General public and staff are hereby, advised not to panic as appropriate measures are being put in place to contain the spread of the virus.
