The Akwa Ibom State Government has denied the five cases of COVID-19 earlier confirmed in the state by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and called for the re-confirmation of the cases.
Speaking on Thursday at a press conference in Uyo, the state’s Commissioner of Health, Dr Dominic Ukpong, said the five reported positive cases have been contacted but have showed no symptoms of the coronavirus.
He stated that the testing that produced the said result did not follow due process, adding that the Director General of NCDC was not aware of the reported result which was announced.
He noted that the testing process was bridged, as the procedure for releasing the results was not duly followed, adding that the test will be repeated.
Ukpong explained that the sample batches which were previously sent for testing by the state government came back negative.
He mentioned that the COVID-19 cases came from the team of American doctors who recently carried out a medical outreach in Ibesikpo Asutan local government area of the state, adding that the contact tracing of patients and all those who came in contact with the doctors was ongoing.
“We observed a disturbing breach in the test and reporting procedure. Akwa Ibom State Government only heard about the test results in the news.
“The Director General of National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) was not aware of the reported result announcement.
“All 5 reported positive test cases have been contacted and they have showed no COVID-19 symptoms.
“While the tests were being processed in NCDC approved test facilities, all suspected cases were held in isolation.
“Several sample batches have been previously sent for testing from Akwa Ibom State and they all returned negative results.
“Owing to the irregularities observed in the testing and reporting procedure, Health Care Professionals in Akwa Ibom State have called for an immediate reconfirmation test on the five reported cases,” he stated.
The Commissioner said the five cases were currently at the Ibom Multi-Specialist Hospital and were not showing any symptoms of the disease.
He urged residents of the state to remain calm and observe the personal and respiratory hygiene guidelines that were issued, adding that it was also important to adhere to the social distancing prescriptions.
He stated that the Enforcement Committee of the Quarantine and Restriction of Movement Regulations 2020 have been mandated to enforce the directives.
He said the Incident Management Committee will continue to meet daily to review and analyze the situation and provide necessary updates.
Daily Trust reports that the NCDC had on Wednesday said five #COVID19 cases were confirmed in Akwa Ibom state.
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