By Kelechi Esogwa-Amadi
The second case of coronavirus in Rivers State, a 62-year old man, has been discharged.
He was discharged in the morning of today, Friday, 17th April 2020, after testing negative to the dreaded disease last night, following close to two weeks of intensive treatment at the state’s treatment centre.
The Rivers State commissioner of health, Professor Princewill Anthony Chike, revealed this today while receiving items donated by members of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Rivers and Bayelsa chapter at the ministry of health, the state secretariat, Port Harcourt.
According to the commissioner, Rivers State, as at now, has no case of coronavirus while the state’s treatment centre at Eleme Local Government Area is now empty.
“The first case of COVID-19 here was a 19-year old lady who was treated and discharged. As at last night, the second case, a 62-year old man, tested positive and was discharged this morning. For now, there is no case of COVID-19 in Rivers State but we are still at alert. Our 30-bed capacity treatment centre is now empty but our facilities are still intact,” he said.
Prof. Princewill Chike said the Rivers State Government is testing both the international and domestic fronts to ensure that every nook and cranny of the state is combed for safety, adding that the last two cases were from people who came into the state from abroad.
The Rivers State health commissioner hailed Governor Nyesom Wike for his proactive approach to the fight against coronavirus that has effectively prevented its outbreak while promising that the press would officially be briefed on the heart-warming development.
TPCN reports that the second discharged COVID-19 patient had returned from the United Kingdom on March 21 and arrived Port Harcourt via a local airline from Lagos, then went on isolation before manifesting symptoms of the virus for which he was taken to the treatment centre for proper attention.
The first case, a 19-year-old model from Edo state, had travelled to France, Italy and Greece before returning to Port Harcourt on the 16th of March, 2020 and later tested positive to the virus before being taken for treatment at the state’s treatment centre.
