Tina Amanda
Rivers State Ministry of Health has confirmed the new COVID-19 case in the state, a 62-year-old retiree who returned from the United Kingdom to Port Harcourt on the 21st March 2020.
Commissioner of Health, Professor Princewill Chike, who confirmed the new COVID-19 case, while briefing newsmen at the state Secretariat, said the test conducted on the man came out positive for coronavirus.
According to the Commissioner, the man has been moved to the Isolation treatment Center at the General Hospital Eleme, in Eleme local government area of the state, where he is currently receiving adequate treatment.
“Of the six new cases announced by Nigeria Center for Disease Control, Rivers State recorded a new case of sixty-two years old retiree who spent about one month in the United Kingdom and returned to Nigeria via Lagos International Airport on the 20th, March 2020. He eventually came back to his home in Port Harcourt where he resides the next day 21st, March 2020, via an Aero flight.
“He has been on self-isolation under the state surveillance system at his family house. He developed a flu-like symptom on the 25th March 2020, the rapid response team went over and collected samples from him and the test result which came in yesterday is positive for COVID-19.
“Contact tracing has commenced, samples are being collected from high-risk contact for Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) analysis. He is receiving prompt treatment in line with the established guidelines for his general condition”
Professor Chike also confirmed that the first index case of Corona Virus in the state, the nineteen years old model has tested negative to COVID-19 and will be discharged today.
“Our first case of COVID 19 who was diagnosed on 25th, March 2020, a young lady who is a model, has done extremely well at the treatment centre. Her second COVID-19 test result came in yesterday and it is negative, the staff at the treatment centre have commenced her discharge this morning, she will be living to reunite with her family today”
He further reiterated that the Ministry has about thirty-five people of interest who returned from COVID 19 impacted areas and areas with Community transmission under surveillance.
“We still have about thirty-five people of interest who came in before the border of Nigeria were closed, we will continue to monitor them and give you update as the event unfolds. Let’s assure you that every contact that we are supposed to follow up the surveillance and contact team will not leave any stone unturned, we will follow up day in day out to make sure our state is effectively covered and protected, any suspect will be picked up and treated as an when due.
“We remaining fifteen of the one hundred and five-line listed contacts, God willing will exit surveillance by Thursday 9th, April 2020, be rest assured that Rivers State Public Health Emergency Operations Centre is and will remain on response mode with dedicated and experience health officers and volunteers doing their best to conquer this pandemic. The treatment centre is active and staffed for efficiency in the service delivery in COVID 19 containment effort”
