COVID19: Medical Doctor And Patient Test Positive In Nassarawa Eggon, General Hospital Shut Down

Umar Abdullahi Galle, Nassarawa Eggon

A medical doctor and a patient at General Hospital Nassarawa Eggon have tested positive to the coronavirus and the hospital shutdown for fears of further spread of the disease and to allow for fumigation.

A senior staff of the hospital who spoke on the condition of anonymity disclosed that the management, State response team and medical personnel from the State Ministry of Health in an emergency meeting with hospital yesterday, confirmed that Nassarawa Eggon recorded its index case which happened to be from the hospital.

According to our source, “On reporting to the hospital, we were told that one of our staff and another person in the community, the two of them were tested for COVID19 and they were found to be positive.

“So, the management, State response team, the Ministry of Health, and representative of the CMD were all around. So, they came and addressed the staff”.

The source added, “Because it was already a pandemic, so one of them is our staff and the other one is from the community. It is not that they were away or travelled elsewhere, they have been in the community.”

Giving reason why the hospital was shutdown, the source said the situation became a source of concern as the doctors were forced to discharge the patients.

“Fortunately, most of the patients were due for discharge and those with the G.O.P.D waiting to be consulted were summoned to tell them that there was a problem right now.

“It would not be good that you come with malaria fever and go back with coronavirus. The hospital environment is one places which infection is hovering around. So, the Ministry said there is a need to fumigate the hospital and that led to its closure for two weeks starting from last Monday (June 8, 2020).”

Also, Eggonnews gathered that samples of hospital staff were collected as they were urged to wait for their results at their homes while in self isolation.

Currently, the medical facility is under security watch of Nigerian Civil Defence Corps now that all the staff were directed to go for mandatory self-isolation for two weeks.

The senior staff who expressed fear, said the Covid-19 patients were both from Nassarawa Eggon community and none them has a recent travel history, which suggests that the infection is within the community.

The source said, “That is why the person concerned in the hospital and the person in the community yesterday were taken to Specialist Hospital Lafia for treatment in Isolation Centre.”

When asked about contact tracing of the people possibly exposed to the COVID19 patients in the hospital, the source said, “Yes, it is on. The Response Team noted the address of the other person in the community and the doctor. Fortunately, the doctor is single. But there is contact tracing.”

On the hospital patients and outside patients, the doctor has attended to, “They are on it. The Response Team they are on it.

“He attended to patients before he came down to the extent of response team coming to him to take his sample.”

While explaining how the doctor fell ill, the source revealed that, “Well, there were some few days that he really complained that he was sick. So, he was on duty, I think from last Thursday he was off duty. Because the way he was complaining that he was not in himself, he has been sick.”

Our source who was in self-isolation, advised people that are showing symptoms of COVID19 to report to the response team in Specialist Hospital Lafia.

Eggonnews also gathered that the Response Team and medical personnel that came to Nassarawa Eggon engaged with the members of the community in the palace of the Aren Eggon to confirm the case and give reasons as why they were closing the General Hospital Nassarawa Eggon.

Some community members asked question as what will happen if someone was sick? However, advised to go the private hospital or clinic for treatment. “They want to curtail the further spread of this COVID. That is what we want to do. If they do not close the hospital is going to be terrible. That what exactly what happened”, the source said.