The Interview Editors
The Ekiti State Commissioner for Health, Mojisola Yaya-Kolade, has narrated the events that led to an Ekiti State indigene getting infected with the much dreaded and highly contagious COVID-19.
You will recall that the federal ministry of health had on Wednesday, disclosed that Nigeria now had five new cases of Coronavirus, bringing to eight the total number of confirmed cases.
One of the five new cases has now been identified as a driver from Ekiti State.
Yaya-Kolade, in her statement, said, “The Ekiti State Taskforce on COVID-19, headed by His Excellency Dr. John Kayode Fayemi, can confirm that we have recorded an incidence of a Nigerian male, 38 years old, of Ekiti origin, who has tested positive to COVID-19.”
According to the statement, which was made available to The Interview on Wednesday, the driver is suspected to have been infected while driving a 27-year-old male American who came to Nigeria from the United States, on a visit with his caregiver, a 31-year-old Nigerian female from Ekiti State.
The American is now dead and his death is still under investigation.
“The American male and his Nigerian female caregiver, arrived Nigeria on 3rd March 2020 through the Muritala Mohammed International Airport Lagos,” the statement further said.
“Preliminary investigations revealed that the pair were driven by our confirmed case to Ibadan, where they stayed for two weeks, and arrived Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State on 13th March, 2020.
“A day after their arrival, the American male fell ill and he was taken to a private hospital where he was referred to a tertiary hospital. Unfortunately, he died from complications of his illness.
“The hospital authorities alerted the State Taskforce and samples were taken from the American male as well as his two companions. The test for the male driver came back positive; the test for the female caregiver came back negative while the test for the American male was inconclusive,” Yaya-Kolade said.
She noted that the state’s taskforce on COVID-19 had already quarantined the driver in the State Isolation Centre, and that the caregiver who tested negative, is presently under observation in self isolation in compliance with the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC) protocols.
“We have commenced the process of contact tracing, working with the Federal Ministry of Health and the World Health Organisation (WHO) following the team’s itinerary since they landed in Nigeria on the 3rd of March 2020,” the government said.
“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 confirmed case is very stable and not showing any symptoms while NCDC will repeat the test for the caregiver who is also in self isolation.
“The Ekiti State Task Force on COVID-19 is following the NCDC Case Management Protocols with diligence. We want to urge Ekiti residents to stay calm and ensure they observe the prevention steps that are being publicised on all credible media.
“It is important to state that this likely index case was on a short visit and had not been in Ekiti State for up to 72 hours before his death.
“The Ekiti State Taskforce on COVID-19 advises residents to continue to take self-preventive measures by washing their hands with soap and water, covering their mouths when coughing or sneezing, observing social distancing and to alert the authorities of any suspected case by calling the 112 Emergency Number or 09062970434, 09062970435, 09062970436.
“The Government of Ekiti State will continue to update the public on new developments as necessary in our commitment to ensuring the safety and protection of all Ekiti residents,” the commissioner added.
