The Rivers State Government may have celebrated the discharge of two persons afflicted by the Coronavirus with great aplomb, but latest reports indicate the State has recorded another case of the virus.
Professor Princewill Chike, Rivers State Commissioner for Health, made the disclosure Wednesday in Port Harcourt.
He said that the victim was being evacuated to a centre designated for the treatment of the disease where he would receive swift medical attention.
Apparently, the latest case of the pandemic was brought into the State by a business man engaged in the hospitality industry who returned to Port Harcourt by road from Abuja.
The Health Commissioner said, “A 61-year old Hotel Manager had attended to his boss, the owner of Mingi Suites who returned from Abuja in February, 2020.
” The rapid response team was notified of the sudden and mysterious death of the owner of the hotel last week and decided to place all his contacts under watch.
“Once the testing guidelines were expanded, samples were collected from the hotel manager for COVID testing and his result is the positive sample for COVID-19 in the State.”
The Commissioner assured that the government was on top of the situation in the fight against the spread of the virus in the State.
” Contact tracing has commenced and samples will be collected from his high risk contacts for RT-PCR analysis while risk communication and community engagement will continue unabated as usual. Be rest assured, no stone will be left unturned.
Professor Princewill Chike further remarked, “the State Public Emergency Operations Centre is and will remain on response mode with dedicated and experienced health officers and volunteers doing their best to conquer this pandemic in our setting.”
He revealed that the treatment center is “active and staffed for efficiency of service delivery in the containment effort.”
News of the New Coronavirus case has sent shock waves across the State, with many praying that various strategies adopted by the system would help contain the spread of the virus.