I’m not COVID-19 positive, Delta 5th patient cries out

• She’s positive — Delta govt insists

• Our privacy have been invaded, 5 quarantined Delta NYSC medics cry out
• PSN threatens to withdraw services over incessant harassment

By Samuel Oyadongha, Festus Ahon, Gabriel Enogholase, Perez Brisibe, Chioma Onuegbu & Harris Emmanuel

THE 5th COVID-19 patient in Delta State, yesterday cried out that she is not positive of the ailment, maintaining that she was only suffering from cough having been diagnosed of pneumonia in 2004.

The patient in an audio recording, while lamenting the poor living condition of the Warri Isolation and treatment centre, where she is currently receiving treatment, also disclosed that she was yet to see the test result confirming that she is COVID-19 positive.

Confirming the authenticity of the recording, a brother to the patient who spoke to Vanguard, said: “We are not really happy with things at the centre for now as situation there is not friendly at all.

“For somebody with a respiratory issue, they gave her cold water, but she demanded for hot water, so we brought hot water in a flask for her but they refused to take it from us as well, hence we had to go back with everything we came with.”

In the audio recording, the patient said: “I was called by the Delta State Commissioner for Health and I told him that with all due respect, sir, I need to see my test result, and besides, there are procedures by which one can contact this virus and having been indoors, I am not a public person, though am a fashion designer, who did I come in contact with? There is a lockdown.

“Based on the symptoms of coronavirus, the person will have cough, running nose, fever and so and so forth, but right now, the only thing I have is just cough.’’

“I did not go out during the two weeks lockdown and I was indoors all through. The last day to the final day of the lockdown, before it was extended, that was the day I told my younger brother that having been indoors all through, I need to stroll out and told him to take me on a ride and drop me in my friend’s house and that was it.”

Contacted, the state Commissioner for Information, Mr Charles Aniagwu, insisted that the lady tested positive to coronavirus.

He said the result would be printed and send to the lady today.

On allegations of poor treatment, Aniagwu said that the lady was being taken good care of contrary to her claim.

Our privacy have been invaded, 5 quarantined Delta NYSC medics cry out

The five medical personnel currently being quarantined after coming in contact with a 5th COVID-19 patient at the Otu-Jeremi General Hospital, Ughelli South, Delta State, have condemned the disclosure of their identities, including phone numbers to the general public, stating that their privacy had been invaded.

The medics; three doctors, one pharmacist and a medical laboratory scientist, had attended to a female patient who was last Thursday brought to the hospital after showing symptoms of the ailment.

Consequently, the Ughelli South COVID-19 Monitoring, Evaluation and Enforcement team, led by the council chairman, Dr. Richard Kofi in company of other officials of the council, met with the hospital management and how to handle the issue.

At the end of the visit, a statement allegedly authored by the media aide to the council chairman, Noah Edeamrigho was issued, stating the findings of the team detailing the names and addresses of the patients as well as the names and phone numbers of those being quarantined, including a sister of the pharmacist.

The statement was posted on the Face book page of the media aide to the council boss, Noah, though later deleted, claiming that his account had been deleted while the council chairman described the allegation as “a bundle of lies and falsehood.”

Speaking on their ordeals since being quarantined, one of the corps members who spoke on condition of anonymity, said: “We were surprised when we started getting multiple calls from strangers with our family members panicking after they also read the statement which is already in the social media.

“Most surprising of it is that we heard the statement was issued by the media aide to the council chairman who equally is a medical doctor and should know better. We hear that he is denying the statement describing it as a bunch of lies, if actually they are, how can his aide who is not a medic get the exact medical diagnosis of the patient as well as her details alongside ours?”

A’ Ibom says lockdown continues till Monday

In Akwa Ibom State, government yesterday announced that the ongoing lockdown put in place to curb the spread of Coronavirus in the state would continue till April, 27, 2020.

Secretary to State Government, SSG, Dr. Emmanuel Ekuwem while updating newsmen on the COVID-19 fight in the state, urged the citizens and residents to continue to cooperate with government in its effort to curb the spread of the virus.

He also lauded Governor Udom Emmanuel for providing leadership and giving directions in the fight to mitigate the spread and effects of COVID-19 that has kept the entire global community on its toes in the last few months.

Ekuwem said that Governor Emmanuel’s efforts and pragmatic inputs explained the low incidence level of the virus in the state.

Ekuwem who is also Chairman of COVID-19 Management Committee expressed gratitude to God that so far, only nine cases have been confirmed in the state, stressing that many people were not aware of the huge resources the administration was expending to keep the state free of Coronavirus and other diseases.

Diri converts new referral Hospital to Isolation Centre

In Bayelsa State, Governor Douye Diri, has converted an 80-bed mother and child referral hospital built by Chevron Nigeria Limited and its partners to a temporary isolation centre in the fight against COVID-19.

Diri stated at the official handing over of the facility sited within the premises of the Bayelsa State Medical University to the state government in Yenagoa.

The governor said the conversion was aimed at tackling a more dreadful disease threatening the lives of everyone and not an attempt to deny the people of the state of other health services.

Edo govt introduces novel home schooling model

Following the coronavirus outbreak, the Edo State Government-backed Edo Basic Education Sector Transformation (Edo-BEST) has introduced a novel homeschooling initiative, Edo-BEST-AT-HOME.

The programme would deploy the data of 280,000 pupils and their parents in the state’s public primary and junior secondary schools to monitor active learners on the platform to ensure efficiency.

Chairman, Edo State Universal Basic Education Board, SUBEB, Dr. Joan Osa-Oviawe, who disclosed this in a chat with journalists, said the EDO-BEST-AT-HOME is a well-thought programme to support pupils whose schools have been closed due to the restriction of movement caused by the coronavirus outbreak.

She noted that the lesson materials are available at https://subeb.edostate.gov.ng/home-school/, adding that the model takes care of the needs of parents in rural areas, where mobile tutors are being mobilized to attend to the peculiar needs of the pupils.

PSN threatens to withdraw services in A’Ibom over incessant harassment

Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria, PSN, Akwa Ibom State branch has threatened to halt pharmaceutical services over alleged incessant harassment of health professionals on essential duties by security operatives in the state.

State Chairman of PSN, Dr Akwaowo Akpabio while donating palliatives to the less privileged to cushion the effects of the lockdown occasioned by outbreak of Covid 19 in the country, called for stoppage of the incessant harassment of health professionals on essential duties, and threatened to withdraw pharmacists and pharmaeutical services if the harassment continues.

He decried the ill treatment and embarrassment of health professionals who are front line health care providers in this time of Covid 19 outbreak.

He sympathized with the Nigerian Medical Association, NMA Chairman, Dr Nsikak Nyoyoko over being blocked by the police and subsequently refusal of passage even when he was going to discharge official duties and responsibilities to the people of the state at the University of Uyo teaching Hospital.

He urged the law enforcement officers to apologise to the NMA Chairman and indeed all doctors and other health professionals in the state as such nonchalant attitude was capable of demoralizing health care professionals and affect their efficiency in patient care at hospitals.

Heritage, JV donates food, medical items to 112 host communities, health institutions

Heritage Energy Operational Services Limited HEOSL, operator of OML30 assets, and the JV Partners, Nigerian Petroluem Development Company and Shoreline Natural Resources Ltd, yesterday, donated food items and medical equipments worth over N22milion as palliatives to the 112 host communities and 25 selected health institutions in OML30.

Mr Sylvester Okoh, Head, Community Relations, who made the presentation of 560 bags of rice, 200 litres of hand sanitizers, 62 temperature guns, 2500 face masks and 2500 hand gloves among others, on behalf of the company at the Ughelli Production Centre, UPC, Delta State, for onward distribution to the various communities, also implored the community leaders to ensure a fair distribution to as many indigenes as possible.