Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa
There is uneasy calm in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State capital and other parts of the state as a 49-year-old female civil servant has been confirmed as the index case of COVID-19 in the state.
The governor of the state, Senator Douye Diri who also heads the COVID-19 State Task Force had adopted several measures including partial lockdown, border closures, curfew, enforcing of social distancing policy and demolition of Swali markets to prevent the lethal infection getting into the state.
According to investigation, the index case presented herself to the Bayelsa State Specialist Hospital by the Government with a history of diabetes and hypertension. However her complaints of poor appetite, fever, chest pain, headache and non-productive cough prompted the medical personnel to request for her sample to be taken.
She vehemently refused insisting that she is not suffering from COVID-19 but eventually her sample was taken and the result confirmed by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) was returned positive.
Consequently the Bayelsa specialist hospital has been shut down and all the medical personnel and staff that attended to her have been quarantined for their samples to be taken.
Diri who briefed journalist on the latest developments called for calm noting that it is now time for Bayelsans to show understanding of preventive measures being taken by the government.
He therefore announced that from midnight on Monday all residents of the state expect those on essential duties should remain at home.
The governor who said the index case has been taken to the Niger Delta Teaching Hospital Okolobiri noted that the state task force team would remain on response mode.
“One of the five results received yesterday night for Bayelsa State was positive for COVID-19. This is the first confirmed case in Bayelsa. The patient is a 49-year-old female, who presented herself at the Bayelsa State Specialist Hospital. She is a known hypertensive and diabetic, and presented with history of poor appetite, fever, headache, non-productive cough and chest pain of week duration. She did not admit to any travel history. She was subsequently admitted at the Bayelsa Specialist Hospital where she was being managed for malaria and uncontrolled hypertension with queried COVID-19. Even as of this morning, she has vehemently denied any travel history and has strongly rejected the test result. She is presently stable clinically even though in a panic state.
He continued “She has been evacuated to the Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital (NDUTH) isolation centre at Okolobiri for further management and all her contacts will be adequately followed up, including necessary environmental decontamination as the case may be.”
“Contact tracing has also commenced and samples will be collected from all contacts, including members of staff of the Specialist Hospital that were on duty as well as all persons who visited the facility during her admission.”