COVID-19 patient escapes from isolation centre in Niger

There is an uneasy calm at the Minna Isolation Centre in Niger state following the alleged of a suspected coronavirus positive woman from centre, even as the state recorded another three COVID – 19 positive cases.

This was disclosed by the state Commissioner for Health, and Hospital Services, Dr. Muhammad Makusidi, while briefing journalists on updates on the state’s coronavirus pandemic.

He announced that the new cases include a medical doctor who returned from Kano and works with the Federal Medical Centre Bida, a returnee from Akwa Ibom state who is from Kagara and a female resident of Suleja Town who also is a returnee from Kano.

Makusidi said that a confirmed case from Kano, hitherto in isolation at the Minna Isolation Centre has absconded and that the committee is making frantic efforts to trace and return him back to the centre.

He said the female victim had started exhibiting symptoms of the disease while in Kano. but found her way back to the state allegedly due to lack of attention.

According to the commissioner, the woman was immediately approached by some members of the state COVID-19 committee following a tip -off where she profusely denied exhibiting any of the symptoms.

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The commissioner stated that the three new confirmed cases, who are already quarantined at the state government facility are been handled accordingly, adding that one confirmed case out of the six recorded so far from the state, have been discharged after testing negative to the virus twice.

Although, the commissioner did not give details of how the women escaped from isolation centre, it was learnt that the positive case complained about the poor condition of the isolation before escaping to an unknown destination.

Meanwhile, the state has discharged the second index case recorded in the state while the first case is still under medication

Also, some persons quarantined at the government facility in Minna, yesterday protested against the inhuman conditions at the facility where they are being kept.

While expressing their anger over the conditions at the facility, the protesters claimed that feeding was not forthcoming from the state government and requested to be allowed to go home instead of dying in hunger at the quarantine centre.