COVID-19:Fear Grips Ugep Residents Over Suspected Case

By Jonathan Ugbal

Residents of Ugep community in Yakurr local government area of central Cross River are currently gripped with fear after a female youth corper who recently returned from Abuja is said to have been rushed to Calabar, the state capital to be tested for COVID-19.

The youth corper, a native of Ugep is said to be serving in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory which as at press time has recorded 21 cases of the coronavirus disease.

As at 09:30 pm 29th March, there are

111 confirmed cases
1 death

For a breakdown of cases by states in real time, please see https://t.co/zQrpNeOfet

Currently;
Lagos- 68
FCT- 21
Ogun- 3
Enugu- 2
Ekiti- 1
Oyo- 7
Edo- 2
Bauchi- 2
Osun-2
Rivers-1
Benue- 1
Kaduna- 1

— NCDC (@NCDCgov) March 29, 2020

Family sources said she returned from Abuja three days ago and since her boss at the National Assembly had tested positive, approached the General Hospital Ugep where the nurse who attended to her screamed and alerted those at the ward.

Endurance Onun, publisher of CrossRiverDaily said Dr. Omini Eteng, an on-field medical agent had averred it was a case of contact tracing.

“She does not have symptoms. She is a Corper with the Senate chambers. Her boss obviously tested positive for the virus and all his staff are been followed up for sample collection. A case of contact tracing. This information is from the General Hospital, Ugep. The laboratory focal person was mandated to go get the sample. She has been advised to self isolate,” Eteng averred.

She is said to have been prepped and moved into an Ambulance to be driven to Calabar where an isolation center exists at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital.

But, a source at the state ministry of health headquarters say no such thing has been reported to them and said they have received series of false alarms recently.

The source said such alarms usually come without names, addresses and phone numbers to make the job of tracing easier.

According to the case management guideline of the Nigerian Center for Disease Control, if such situations are real, a sample will be taken and sent to the nearest testing facility which is in Irrua, Delta state where it will be tested and then announced.

CrossRiverWatch has reached the Emergency Operations Center for comments.