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COVID-19 Plateau: 6 Major Talking Points from First Confirmed Case Of Coronavirus

 

Nigerian Center for Disease Control NCDC on Thursday 24th April confirmed the index case of COVID-19 in Plateau State with the national
update which it recorded 108 new cases nationally with  thereby taking the toll in Nigeria to 981.

The efforts and the pro-activeness of the government of Plateau state and the entire citizenry must be commended in curbing any spread of the dreaded Covid-19 pandemic.

Plateau State recorded the first case of coronavirus on Thursday
evening when it was reported that a lady who came in from Kano later
tasted positive making her the first person to test positive in the
state.

There are some major talking points as the announcement of the index case in plateau state is raising eyebrows

Matthewtegha Blog takes a look at some 6 major talking points. Read below 

1 – PLATEAU STATE COMMISSIONER OF HEALTH:

The Plateau State Commissioner of Health was silent for over 6hours while the reports of the index confirmed case of coronavirus was making the rounds.  It is no longer news that the world is being ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic with over 2.7 million world confirmed cases and almost 200,000 deaths worldwide with Nigeria  recording almost1000 cases. Therefore any suspected case or confirmed case should be promptly reported as such could also save lives and cut movement of persons who have been in contact with the reported case. When the Plateau Health Care Professionals visited the Plateau State Covid-19 Task force to make their submission, they specifically mentioned that the state has to proactive rather than waiting for NCDC. It was clearly evident that the Plateau Health Care Professionals were not being carried along by the state ministry of health with the recommendations and statistics submitted at the instance of the Task Force.

The Commissioner of Health would have made an announcement at a Press
Briefing immediately the case was confirmed to show pro-activeness as the result showed was released as early as 5:30PM. Was it that he never knew up until 1AM of Friday 24th April when his press statement finally surfaced?

This the state’s index
case as such a quick announcement was to be made before NCDC released their midnight results. We have seen that done in other states as they announced their index cases before NCDC.

2 – The unethical manner the Lab Result of the patient was released to the public.

NVRI VOM are opening themselves up for lawsuits if this is how they release
patients information. As we all know medical results and names of patients are supposed to be kept confidential so why is the case of Plateau state different with Nigeria recording almost a thousand case an we have not seen any patients lab result from other states. It will create a lot of stigma and will scare people away from submitting themselves for testing if they can not have the doctor/patient confidentiality.

3 – SECURITY AT PLATEAU BORDERS:

It was reported that index case of coronavirus is a lady who came in from Kano and was later
tested positive making her the first person to test positive in the
state The question is how was she able to come into the state from Kano after the borders have been closed for more than 2weeks now. The lady should be asked to explain how she came into the state.

This also gives us an understanding why Plateau state still records incessant killings despite the presence of security personnel in the state. 

Should we now clap for the security men?  They are now our heroes for making sure Plateau has an index case. They may have to quarantine all the security men at our borders.

4 – THE MEDIA

I don’t think this should be the major problem at this point as the media have been encouraged in helping contact tracing with such a pandemic that does not discriminate on who it infects. In pandemics, the people should know where the problem is coming from as such quick information is vital. The media has played the role of informing the public on the best practices in curbing the spread of coronavirus as such warning the public of early detection of persons is also key. 

5 – THE CONTINUOUS STATE LOCK-DOWN

Plateau state governor, Simon Lalong has really done his best to prevent this pandemic from ramping into plateau  but it was long clear that the state had no case of the virus except it was imported from other states who have recorded cases. The state lockdown is a proactive measure but the same resources expended at the lockdown and state fumigation exercise should have been used to martial all borders too. The index case recorded in the state was avoidable if not for misguided efforts within the city center when the borders should have been the main focus. We hope the matter will be investigated thoroughly and the culprit of the border breech be sanctioned accordingly.

6 – WHAT NEXT

Now that Plateau state has recorded its first case of coronavirus, it is time for collective action and not blame game.

A single index case may mean that Plateau state could  have a reservoir of cases or rise to be more cautious as some states have recorded only one case and remain that way.

If your relation, friend or neighbor sneaked into Plateau recently through whatever means, it is your duty to report to the COVID 19 task force nearest to you for immediate action.

We have to also be our brother’s keeper while trying to help cushion the effect of the dreaded COVID-19 pandemic.

Stay home keep safe.

Feel free to ADD your opinion below…

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2 COMMENTS

  1. We have many people from plateau state they are living in other cities or should i say other states that hunger is killing and they want to come back home to their families
    So do you want them to stay back and die of hunger or come back home to their family?
    Seriously we really want to come back home

    • My Opinion… A number of days were given before the state borders were closed as such anyone caught outside had sufficient time to make the decision to return or not.
      Coronavirus is being carried by people from one destination to another as the virus doesn't have legs as such the best remedy is to stay home and stay safe…
      The index case in Nigeria was an Italian same for plateau as the index case has been shipped from Kano.

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