The Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, says the state government has eliminated the threat of COVID-19 outbreak through the Italian index case.
Abayomi, briefing newsmen on the COVID-19 update on Friday, March 13, 2020 in Lagos, said that concerted efforts of government and its partners assisted in breaking the cycle of transmission.
According to him, the virus didn’t have opportunity to spread beyond one person.
On the Italian index patient, Abayomi said that he was still at the isolation centre, because “he is still secreting a little bit of the virus, meaning he’s potentially still contagious.
“Our test suggests that his immune system will soon clear off the infection. The moment we pick that up, we will be looking for a second negative.
“Let’s say the next test tomorrow is negative, we will repeat it after 48 hours, and if we still get negative, that means he’s deemed to be non-contagious,” he said.
Abayomi said that the index case would pose no danger to the community at that point, saying that he was almost at that stage and would be released soon.
“That means we have broken the cycle of transmission in Lagos, we have not given the virus the opportunity to spread beyond one person.
“So, that index case that’s a threat to Lagos and Nigeria has been eliminated and we did not get an outbreak,” he said.
The commissioner said that the second confirmed case of COVID-19, a contact of the index case, had tested negative to two tests, adding that he had been discharged.
The commissioner added that all the 179 people that had contact with the index case had been identified.
He said: “40 of them were quarantined in Ogun State, while 139 were monitored in Lagos State.
“The contacts in both states have been discharged; they have exceeded the 14 days of quarantine and isolation at home without developing any symptom of the disease.”
The commissioner said that the state government had intensified its surveillance at the nation’s airports against another imported case.
He, However, said that it was inevitable that there would be more outbreaks in Africa.
Abayomi said that Lagos was intensifying its surveillance to ensure that the health facilities does not get overwhelmed, in case there are new cases.
He added that the state government had sent more health personnel to the airport to assist the Federal medical team to boost their surveillance.
By Oluwafunke Ishola
