- Lagos State Govt: Chinese National has tested negative
- Hospital Mgt: “ There is NO confirm Case of Coronavirus…”
By Hamilton Nwosa(Head , The New Diplomat Business and Data Desk)
The Lagos state government has confidently said a Chinese citizen who was suspected to have coronavirus, has tested negative to the deadly infection in Lagos State.
The Chinese national had reportedly checked himself into Reddington Hospital, Ikeja, after experiencing what medical and health workers regard as symptoms of fever yesterday.
This had raised palpable confusion in Lagos, especially in the Ikeja axis of the the bubbling commercial hub of Nigeria as reports alleged that the Chinese national (names withheld), who arrived in Nigeria from China , about a few weeks back, and was taken for medical attention at the hospital had symptoms of fever , a development that triggered Coronavirus scare among residents of the area. This report had consequently resulted in several comments and reactions from Nigerians who wanted to know the true status of the Chinese national and if indeed such a development took place. This had sparked some confusion among residents for fear of the deadly Coronavirus scare.
But in a statement on Thursday, Lagos State Commissioner for Health Akin Abayomi, said the likelihood of COVID-19 infection in this particular patient was very low and the conclusion of investigations and sophisticated testing confirmed that there is no case of coronavirus in Lagos state as of now.
The Statement added: “I would like to reassure Lagosians that our vigilance levels are very high and we are putting more measures in place to safe guard the state”.
He said: “From our investigation, we gathered that a Chinese citizen who arrived in Nigeria from China 7 weeks ago presented at Reddington Hospital yesterday complaining about fever. The hospital in keeping with the advisory we earlier issued, correctly maintained a high index of suspicion, isolated the patient and reported the case to the Ministry.
“We took up the case, transferred the patient to the State Isolation Unit at the Mainland hospital which is our specialised infectious disease hospital. His blood samples were taken to the Virology laboratory for analysis and it came out negative.”
Also in a swift reaction, the management of Reddington Hospital had debunked the claims, saying there is no iota of truth in the story. In statement signed by the hospital’s Group Medical Director, Dr Olutunde Lalude, Reddington said it “ would like to assure the public that there has been NO confirmed case of coronavirus at ANY of the branches of the Reddington hospital as at today 26 February 2020″.
Part of the statement reads: “ “It has come to the attention of the management of the Reddington hospital that rumours are circulating on social media of a case of coronavirus (COVID-19) at the Reddington hospital Ikeja. …
“In the early hours of Wednesday 26 February 2020, a Chinese national presented to Reddington Hospital, Ikeja complaining of fever. Following standard protocol it was ascertained that he had arrived in Nigeria from China seven weeks ago and had not been in contact with anyone else who might have coronavirus. As a precautionary measure, staff immediately isolated him in accordance with the hospital’s standard operating procedure for potential coronavirus patients”.
“The state public health authorities were promptly informed and involved. Despite the risk being assessed to be relatively low according to the currently available science regarding incubation period, blood samples were taken using full prescribed precautions and sent to the Lagos State authorised virology laboratory for analysis and diagnosis. The results of the tests will be available tomorrow. The patient has been transferred to the Infectious Diseases Hospital in Lagos while the results of the tests are awaited”.
