Stanley Uzoaru, Owerri
Imo Government said the COVID-19 index case patient in the state is in good condition.
Commissioner for Health, Dr. Damaris Osunkwo, who disclosed this in a statement, yesterday, in Owerri, urged residents to remain calm and not panic as government was tracing persons who had come in contact with the index case.
Osunkwo assured of government’s commitment to their well-being, saying the Ministry of Health in collaboration with other partners had started following up on the contacts of the index case.
She said the patient was responding well to treatment at an isolation centre. She said 37 samples sent to the laboratory for test had come out negative, except the index case.
“We are escalating sample collection and laboratory testing and so far, all the samples sent to the laboratory have come out negative except the index case.”
The commissioner, however, advised residents to report all suspected cases to the disease surveillance officers of their local government areas.
She also advised clinics, hospitals, public and private health facilities in the state to remain vigilant against COVID-19.
She thanked the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), World Health Organisation (WHO) and other partners for their painstaking contributions to the fight against coronavirus in the state.