Magnus Eze and Jude Chinedu, Enugu
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), yesterday, said it was monitoring suspected case of Coronavirus in Enugu State.
A post on the agency’s verified Twitter account yesterday said the results of the case already in isolation will be ready on today.
The tweet reads: “The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control is aware of the patient in Enugu, suspected to have #COVID19.
“This is one of several alerts received daily at the National #COVID19 Emergency Operations Centre.
“The patient is in isolation, sample collected and results expected tomorrow.”
Enugu Government in a terse statement by Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Dr. Ifeanyi Agujiobi, confirmed the case was under investigation, adding that the NCDC had been communicated.
“There is a suspected case of Corona Virus (COVID- 19) in Enugu. The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has been informed. Sample has been collected and sent for investigations. We await the result. The suspect is being monitored,” it stated.
Daily Sun gathered that the patient, a 70-year-old woman from Owerri, Imo State, allegedly returned back to the country on March 11 from the United Kingdom, where she had gone to visit her children about five months.
She was rushed to the Enugu State University Teaching Hospital (ESUTH), Parklane, on March 14, where she manifested symptoms of the COVID-19.
“She travelled to UK five months ago to see her children. She came into the country on the 11th of March 2020. She presented with fever, cough and mild respiratory distress. We isolated her at Colliery and collected oropharyngeal and nasopharyngeal swab and sputum. The samples are on the way to Irrua Specialist Hospital, Edo State. Meanwhile, she is diabetic, hypertensive and has a peritoneal shunt. She is being managed by a multi-disciplinary team from ESUTH, Parklane,” a hospital staffer volunteered under anonymity.
A medical practitioner in the hospital, who reportedly saw the patient in isolation, told Daily Sun that “It’s too early to begin to speculate.”
Government said it had fully activated the medical emergency procedures that it uses to deal with epidemics, including those used for the Ebola outbreak and the persistent Lassa fever.
Meanwhile, the University of Ilorin (Unilorin) has instructed its returning international students to go for medical examination.
Prof. Felicia Olasheinde-Williams, the Director, Centre for International Education (CIE) of Unilorin gave the directive in a letter addressed to the international students.
The letter, a copy of which was obtained by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), yesterday, in Ilorin, stated that the directive was necessary to prevent the spread of Coronavirus on campus.
Olasheinde-Williams said all returning international students must proceed to the University Clinic for medical examination, so as to deter the spread of the virus within and outside campus.