Jude Chinedu, Enugu
Enugu State on Friday recorded a fourth case of COVID-19, four days after the third case was announced by the state government.
The state Commissioner for Health, Dr Ikechukwu Obi, who made this known in a statement on Friday night said that the patient is a 39-year-old man who lives and works in Lagos, but returned to Enugu on April 22.
Dr Obi said that, “this new case is a 39-year-old who used to live and work in Lagos. Recently this person travelled back to Enugu on the 22nd of April, took ill subsequently and reported to a mission hospital in the state.
“Staff of the hospital alerted the state COVID-19 response team days later and samples were taken on the 29th of April which have turned out to be positive today, 1st May, 2020. This new case is not a contact of the 3rd case.
“Thus far cases reported in Enugu have had positive travel history. This means four cases have tested positive in Enugu, two have been discharged and now, two are currently positive.
“Greater vigilance at the ports of entry into Enugu State is advised. We are now reporting cases that are not primary contacts of confirmed cases,” he said.
Meanwhile, Sunday Sun investigations revealed that some Enugu natives, as well as others from other states of the Southeast have been fleeing the high-risk areas of Coronavirus, particularly Lagos and Kano states, to return home.
These natives have been taking night buses which charge them as much as N15,000 while the drivers of the night buses ‘settle’ the police at night duty to get to their destinations.
A relative of a man who returned to Nsukka, Enugu State at the weekend from Lagos said his brother who paid N15,000 at Maza Maza, Lagos got home without any challenge on the road as their driver was paying N1,000 to the police at each checkpoint.