Duku Joel, Damaturu
The specimen of a suspected case of COVID -19 in Yobe State has ben sent to Abuja and the result expected in the next 48 hours, Commissioner for Health Dr. Mohammed Lawan Gana has stated.
The Commissioner, who briefed journalists on Friday evening said, the case definition of the patient meets COVID -19.
He however said the patient cannot be certainly declared as COVID- 19 positive until the result returns from Abuja.
According to the Commissioner, the patient is a 30-year -old truck driver, who came from Lagos to Potiskum but has not mingled with his family or the neighborhood.
He said,: “A 30 year old truck driver presented to be an out patient department on the 2nd of April 2020 with symptoms of cough, fever and difficulty in breathing of six days duration.
“The patient had travelled to Lagos seven days earlier.
“He left Lagos on the 23 of March but had to stop at a Primary Health care at Bauchi on the account of the symptoms when he could not continue his journey to Potiskum.
“He neither could remember the name of the facility nor the facility. He left Bauchi and arrived Potiskum on the 1 of April 2020.
“According to his colleagues, he had not gone to his house, neither to his neighborhood.”
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Gana added: “The state rapid response team arrive the hospital around 8.30pm yesterday, a few hours after he was presented to the hospital to commence case investigation and institute clinical and public health actions”.
He informed that the team has constituted a contact tracing team in the hospital and the community and futher actions will be guided by the outcome of the result.
“The patient though has met the case definition of COVID 19, there is a likelihood that he may have other respiratory infections that are not covid 19 so we cannot certainly say that this is the problem until the results are out.
“For now, he is being investigated for respiratory track infection, tuberculosis, corona virus and disease
“We will be expecting the result between tomorrow and next. Further action will be guided by the outcome of the result,” Dr. Gana explained.
The Nation reports that Yobe State has not recorded any case of COVID-19.
The Commissioner called on the general public not to panic as the state respond committee is on top of the situation.
