How states in Nigeria are dealing with COVID-19
The spread of coronavirus in Nigeria beyond Lagos State, where the index case and five more cases have been reported this week, is keeping other States across the nation on their toes to activate their emergency response services.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) announced five new cases on Wednesday. Four of the cases are in Lagos, while one was reported in Ekiti.
Though the NCDC said it has only five laboratories – two in Lagos, one in Osun, Edo and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), with the capacity to test for COVID-19. Notwithstanding, other states without laboratories are gradually putting measures in place to test and isolate any suspected case reported within their jurisdiction before taking next action on the result of test result.
In Ekiti where a case was reported today, the state government has promptly reacted to state what it is doing to contain the spread of the virus.
A statement by the State’s Commissioner for Health, Dr. Mojisola Yaya Kolade, said the victim, a 38-year-old Ekiti indigene is suspected to have been infected while driving an American who was visiting Nigeria from USA in the company of his caregiver, a 31-year-old Nigerian woman of Ekiti origin.
“The Ekiti State Taskforce on Covid-19 has already quarantined the confirmed case on admission in the State Isolation Centre, while the caregiver who tested negative, is presently under observation in self isolation,” the statement read.
“We have commenced the process of contact tracing, working with the Federal Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization (WHO) following the team’s itinerary since they landed in Nigeria on the 3rd of March 2020.
“We have also contacted the Oyo State Government since it was recorded that they stayed in Ibadan for two weeks before arriving Ekiti State.”
The clarification became necessary following a viral tweet earlier in the day alleging that a corps member who fell ill at the state NYSC orientation camp was subjected to a terrible condition while being conveyed to Osun State.
A Twitter user Chinyere Oranugo (@Chinyereoranugo) had posted some video clips showing a jalopy vehicle being purportedly used as an ambulance to convey the patient who she said is her cousin.
Reacting to Oranugo’s viral tweet, Oluwaseun Odewale, a Special Adviser to Ekiti Governor and Director-General of the State’s Bureau of Public Procurement, said he had reached out to the Twitter user and her cousin who later tested negative has been released
Odewale tweeted: “I want to say that @ChinyereOranugo and I have exchanged messages. She avows that’s her cousin has been tested negative for CONVID-19 and was released earlier today. She appreciates the concern and intervention from all quarters.”
Also in Enugu State, a suspected case was reported on Friday March 13. The patient, a 70-year-old woman, was isolated at a section of the Enugu State University Teaching Hospital (ESUTH), Colliery Parklane, designated as the state’s coronavirus isolation center, from where her blood samples were taken to the Irrua Specialist Hospital in Edo State.
The woman died a day after the result of the tests, which came out negative, was made public. In a letter to Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State, on Tuesday, the daughter of the deceased decried the manner her mother was treated, which she claimed led to her death. She accused health workers at the hospital of negligence and stigmatisation.
“The staff at the hospital were unprofessional in the way they handled my mother. She was stigmatized and this made her feel worthless,” she wrote.
Some photos purportedly showing the dreadful state of the isolation center also went viral on the internet on Wednesday sparking outrage from social media users.
Meanwhile, some health workers in the state were quick to react to the allegations and also shared photos of the hospital and of health workers wearing the protective covering, to deny the claims that the deceased patient was kept in uninhabitable conditions and abandoned by health personnel.
A statement signed by a number of the health workers described the patient’s daughter as mischievous. It read:
“She had hypertension, sugar issues and kidney disease which were poorly managed before her admission at the isolation centre. Her personal doctor, a specialist at the ESUTH Parklane, was also contacted and later went to the Isolation Centre with two other specialists to see this woman.
“Some important tests were done which showed the woman’s blood level was very low, hence needing transfusion.”
They added that even the woman’s son refused to donate blood for her and they had to source for it outside.
In Katsina State where the Ministry of Heath also reported a suspected case on Wednesday, Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Dr Kabir Mustapha said that the patient, who returned from Malaysia, developed some symptoms that warranted further investigations.
The state was also quick to alert the NCDC, took the samples of the suspect which have been sent to the laboratoty in Abuja. Mustapha added that the state has also put precautionary measures in place and would commence contact tracing as soon as the results of the tests are out.
Across the country, it appears states are working closely with NCDC and staying alert to nip any reported case in the bud to contain the spread of the deadly virus. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) coronavirus update website, as at Wednesday March 18, 591 cases have been confirmed in Africa, Egypt has the highest number with 196 cases, South Africa 116 and Algeria 67.
