Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRasaq of Kwara State has revealed that no fewer than 75 persons suspected to have had contacts with COVID-19 patients in the state are already in isolation for medical observation.
AbdulRahman made this known while addressing journalists at the government house in Ilorin on Tuesday.
According to the governor, the state government received official report of samples earlier taken to the Ibadan test centre from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), in which two persons were confirmed positive for COVID-19.
He said the first is the wife of a man who recently returned from UK while the second is a diabetic patient who also had a travel history to the UK.
“Our job is cut out for us and we are definitely not dropping the ball. Contact tracing by the Rapid Response Team of the medical advisory committee has so far netted 75 persons who have had contacts with the cases and the suspected case at UITH.
“We urge Kwarans to avoid crowded space, isolate themselves, and call our helplines if they have just returned from places of interest in the last three weeks. The government is extending the ongoing fumigation exercise to all the places of interest, including the relevant locations in Offa and Ilorin, where contamination may have occurred as a result of how infectious the disease is,”AbdulRahman said.
He added, “Notwithstanding our preparation, we are not ashamed to say that Kwara State will be glad to get all the help it can receive at this moment. We commend everyone who has been doing so much in this regard and we call for more.”
Reacting to the late Muideen Obanimomo case, who was suspected to have died of COVID-19 at University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital UITH, AbdulRahman said, “The government is utterly disappointed at the breach of trust that played out in the UITH case. Without prejudice to the internal investigation by UITH, we demand immediate suspension of Professor Alakija Kazeem Salami and every other official of UITH whose professional misconducts brought us down this path pending the outcome of the ongoing probe.”
Meanwhile, the state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Raji Rasaq, has said that tracing of contacts is still ongoing in Offa and Ilorin, as the team would brief the general public as events unfold.