Covid-19 spreads in Nigeria, 30 cases confirmed
…FCT records 4 confirmed, 35 suspected cases – Official
…Sets up Emergency Epidemic Response Committee
…Says 3 confirmed patients in stable condition
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has disclosed that 30 cases of Coronavirus also known as “Covid-19” have now been confirmed in the country.
The NCDC in the update posted on its website on Sunday said Abuja which had one case in the morning of Sunday, now has four cases.
It said Ekiti has one, while Lagos has recorded 22 cases. One case was also confirmed in Oyo State on Sunday morning of a United Kingdom returnee who had been in self-isolation in Bodija area of Ibadan.
NCDC said: “Three new cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in Lagos, Nigeria. Two cases are returning travellers and one is a contact of a confirmed case.
“As of 05:28 pm on the 22nd of March, there are 30 confirmed cases of #COVID19 in Nigeria. Two have been discharged with no deaths.”
However, the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has disclosed that only four out of the 39 suspected cases recorded so far in the territory have been tested positive.
Speaking with journalists in Abuja on Sunday during the inauguration of the FCT Emergency Epidemic Response Committee, the Director of FCT Public Health Department, Dr. Josephine Okechukwu, said that of the four confirmed cases, three are in stable condition while one is not too stable although the officials are currently working on him.
READ ALSO: Covid-19: CBN, Banks to revamp Nigeria’s economy with injection of N3.5trn
She explained that the unstable patient had a serious health challenge before traveling abroad to seek medical attention, from where the patient contacted the dreaded virus.
“In FCT as at now, we have 39 suspected cases who have been screened of tested for COVID-19 and 4 out of the 39 have been confirmed to have the Virus. 3 of the patients are very stable while 1 is not too stable though the officials are currently working on him. So far we have not recorded any death in FCT.
“COVID-19 is one of the health challenge that we have to face and we are facing it very squarely. We know that it will come and go like every other health challenge.
We are trying everything possible to ensure that we lower the mortality rate by ensuring that nobody dies of it even as we also try to control the spread of the decease.
“The isolation centre that we have in Gwagwalada Teaching Hospital is currently under construction and will be ready in the next three weeks. I discussed with the Chief Medical Director this (Sunday) morning and he assured me that in the next three weeks we will start using the site.
The temporary structure that we are using now is a new structure that is well equipped and it’s functioning. It has about thirty beds and only 4 is been occupied as at now. We still have space for expansion in case we record more cases,” she stated.
While assuring the FCT residents on the level of preparedness of the Administration to contain the spread of Coronavirus, Dr. Okechukwu clarified that no Primary and Secondary health centre is allowed to manage cases of COVID-19.
Furthermore, she disclosed that all the patients have travelling history, noting that three came in from United Kingdom while one came in from Switzerland.
“I assured FCT residents that there is no cause for panic. COVID-19 is just a respiratory infection and we have experienced Flu in this country before now so it is not something that is a death sentence.
Let us all support people especially family members that have COVID-19. We shouldn’t stigmatise them as it can discourage those that have the virus from coming out to get treatment.”
The Daily Times reports that the FCT Emergency Epidemic Response Committee as inaugurated by the FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Bello, comprises of representatives from the FCT Health Secretariat, National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Federal Ministry of Health, World Health Organisation (WHO), Tertiary and Private Hospital amongst others.
The Minister, who was represented by the Acting Secretary, Health and Human Services Secretariat, Dr. Mohammed Kawu, explained that the primary responsibility of the team is to confront the disease in all ramifications and curtail its spread.
The Committee which has Dr. Lawal Ademola as the Incidence Manager and Dr. Austin Ajogwu as the Deputy Incidence Manager, is subdivided into eight functional units of Coordination, logistics, infections and prevention control.
Others includes epidemiology, surveillance and point of entry, laboratory, risk communication and social mobilisation, case management, health and safety (welfare).
On his part, the Senior Special Assistant to the FCT Minister on Media and Strategic Communications, Abubakar Sani, has expressed satisfaction on the level of compliance to the earlier warning to religious centres to maintain a maximum of 50 people in the congregation at a time even as he disclosed that stricter measures will be adopted to ensure the all social gathering within the territory like parties are put on hold.
He noted that large gatherings were only noticed at a few Churches who could not, due to time sensitise its members before Sunday.
“I want to say that from what we have observed today (Sunday), the report we got from the field, the FCT Administration is satisfied with the level of compliance by most of the Churches.”
