COVID-19: Edo Discharges 17 More Patients

The Edo State Government has announced the recovery and discharge of 17 more coronaviruses (COVID-19) patients, who have tested negative for the virus and cleared to reunite with the society.

The Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, in a statement, said a total of 89 patients had now been managed and discharged from various isolation centers in the state.

The governor, who decried the alarming spate of community spread of the virus, urged residents to complement the government’s efforts at containing the pandemic by complying with all guidelines against the spread of the infectious disease.

Obaseki said, “We have discharged 17 more COVID-19 patients from the state’s isolation centers, bringing the total number of those discharged to 89. Sadly, the death toll from the virus in the state has risen to 17. We salute our resolute frontline workers this period. Stay safe.”

Meanwhile, Commissioner for Health, Dr. Patrick Okundia, expressed worry over the spike in COVID-19 related deaths in the state, attributing the incidents to late detection and treatment.

According to him, Edo has so far tested 2576 residents and recorded a total of 336 confirmed cases, 2533 suspected cases, 17 deaths, and 1272 line-listed contacts, while 1311 suspected cases, including 346 persons of interest (POI) and 965 line-listed contacts, have been exited after completing the compulsory 14-day follow-up.

The commissioner said many residents were still giving out wrong addresses and phone numbers during sample collection which makes it difficult for contact tracers to track down confirmed cases after laboratory results are released.

He noted that the state’s surveillance system was able to pick out a resident who tested positive over a week ago, but evaded treatment and repeated the test with different names at two different locations, which all turned out positive. He said this resulted in the subtraction of two cases from the state’s total confirmed cases.

Okundia added, “To remain safe and healthy during this pandemic, it is imperative for all residents to stay at home and observe social distancing and other precautionary measures against the spread of the disease, including regular handwashing with soap under running water, and use alcohol-based hand sanitizers. Cover your mouth and nose properly when sneezing and/or coughing. Also, do well to report anyone with oversea travel history.”