Rose Ejembi, Makurdi
Benue State governor, Samuel Ortom has disclosed that the 23 persons who were isolated at a private hospital in Makurdi have all been released to go home after completing the mandatory 14 days isolation period without showing any symptom of coronavirus.
The governor who disclosed this while fielding questions from newsmen on Wednesday said for now, Benue has no confirmed case apart from the index case, Mrs. Susan Okpe who had tested positive twice to COVID-19.
“For now, we have no confirmed case after the index case who has been confirmed after a second test to be positive.
“At the cottage hospital where she was receiving treatment before it was discovered that she had coronavirus, 23 persons who had contact with her were isolated and after completing the 14 days, there was no established case of COVID-19 in them, so, they have been allowed to go home.
Ortom explained further that there have been suspicious cases of coronavirus in some communities in the state, adding that the COVID-19 Action Committee is on top of the situation.
He confirmed that the state government was aware of a case of a man who was suspected to have the virus in Gungul village, Konshisha Local government area.
“We have had suspicious cases of COVID-19 but our technical people are working on it. The Konshisha case is already being handled by the committee. His samples had been taken and he’s in the process of being moved to the isolation centre in Makurdi.”
The governor, however, warned that no one should be stigmatized because of COVID-19 since it can affect anyone, stressing that, “all we need is to work together and ensure we prevent this virus from infecting us.”
On the deceased footballer who was suspected to have died of coronavirus in Okpokwu Local Government Area, Ortom said autopsy could not be carried out on his remains based on the advice of Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).
“Autopsy was not carried out on the dead COVID-19 suspect because NCDC said since his corpse had been kept in the mortuary for more than four hours, it would be difficult to get the actual result.”