Akwa Ibom Government says five coronavirus patients have been discharged from the Ibom Specialist Hospital Isolation Centre in Uyo.
The state’s Commissioner for Health, Dr Dominic Ukpong disclosed this while briefing newsmen in Uyo on Tuesday.
He said the five discharged patients met Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) protocol standard of two negative tests before they were discharged.
“I want to announce to you that final results of the 30 cases we sent for testing came yesterday.
” And out of the lot, only one is positive. The rest are negative
“What we are doing today is to discharge those patients that tested negative. We have just discharged five of them.
“All of them would like to be anonymous, but you have seen them.
“We don’t want to publish their photographs and their names but they have just been discharged.
“It is not easy to be confined for some time for upward of 22 days, sometimes up to 30 days while we are testing you to be sure that you are negative.
“I am happy to announce that COVID-19 is not a death sentence, and that the government is doing a lot to make sure no one dies,” Ukpong said.
According to him, only one active case is remaining at the state’s isolation centre.
He debunked the story in some sections of the media that 50 medical personnel were awaiting testing at the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital (UUTH), saying that one of the persons discharged today is a staff of the hospital.
“As a matter of fact, I communicate with the Chief Medical Director of the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital regularly.
“I was there yesterday to inaugurate the isolation and treatment centre and the intensive care unit.
“We cooperate and work together. Therefore, we test anyone that meets the criteria of NCDC,” he said.
He advised residents to adhere to NCDC protocols on personal hygiene, regular washing of hands with soap using running water, use of alcohol-based hand sanitisers, and social distancing to stay safe.
