Niger State Government has disclosed that 27 persons have been quarantined in one of its isolation centres at Shanu village in Bosso Local Government Area of the State.
Commissioner for Health and Hospital Services, Dr. Mohammed Makun Sidi made the disclosure on Wednesday during an intaraction with newsmen at the premises of the facility otherwise known as Social Mobilization centre, Minna saying, the persons were quarantined following the suspicion that they may have had contact with a relative suspected to have contracted the Coronarvirus disease.
According to him “prior to the discovery of the quarantined suspects, family members of one of the suspects based in Lagos state, had made a telephone call to other members of the family based in Makera, in Mashegu Local Government Area of the State notifying them of his status.”
He added that the suspect boarded his own vehicle and was traveling to Makera from Lagos State amidst serious coughs and with the suspicion that he might have had contacts with someone who had tested positive for Covid- 19 in Lagos, after which he decided to travel to the village for obvious reasons.
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Dr. Makun Sidi, stated further that no sooner that the relations of the suspect in Makera community in Mashegu local government area of the state received the information about the poor condition of health of the suspect, that they contacted the State COVID-19 Tax force who sprung .
He said, the family members called for the suspect to be taken to an isolation centre as soon as he arrived in the State.
This, according to the State’s Commissioner of Health and Hospital services was against the backdrops of the insistence of the suspect’s family members in the village not to allow him to gain entrance to their family house as soon as he arrived in the village from Lagos.
Furthermore, Makunsidi said “the suspect who might have gotten fellers about the plans of his family members in Makera, parked his newly bought vehicle somewhere within the village, disguised as an ordinary person and boarded a Canter Truck, that was traveling to Wushishi local government area of the state alongside 26 people.
“Thanks to God, we (the State Government) were already ahead of him to take him to an isolation centre, along side the other 26 other passengers with whom he had boarded the truck from Mashegu local government area of the state to the facility where they are being quarantined since on Monday”.
He said, “basically, we have these 27 persons here that might have had contacts with some of the people that had contacts with corona virus disease, coming from an area considered as an epic centre in Lagos. Although, they have not been confirmed positive of covid- 19 disease.
“But, because of the directive by the World Health Organization (WHO) and Nigeria Disease Control Centre (NCDC) to quarantine such people that is what we are doing and that is why they are being quarantined for a minimum of 14 days pending the outcome of the tests we conducted on them that has been taken to NCDC, Abuja for analysis”.
He assured that the results of the tests will be ready by next week, adding that “the moment the Niger State Ministry of Health and Hospital Services receive the results, we will determine how long the people will stay at the Isolation centre.
Source: Daniel Atori Okpole
