By Olawale Abdul-Fatah
After several hours of rigorous test on samples collected from the three Coronavirus suspected cases in Lagos, the State Government has disclosed that the suspects have tested negative to the deadly virus.
The three suspected cases, including a Nigerian-France returnee, two nationals of England and China, were earlier quarantined at the Mainland General Hospital in Yaba, where their samples were collected for tests, have been discharged by the government.
Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, who confirmed their discharge on Friday, stressed that they were released to return home after laboratory tests indicated that the virus with codename COVID19, was not in their bloodstream.
He said: “All the three COVID19 suspected cases; travelers from France, England and China, whose samples were collected yesterday for analysis have tested negative and they have been discharged”.
The three suspected cases were quarantined yesterday after showing symptoms that warrant that they must be isolated for possibly contacting the virus.
Abayomi, however, said the index case, an Italian was seriously responding to treatment at the isolation centre, as his clinical situation was stable.
He stated that the Italian was in high spirit, but that he required psycho-social support as he was getting depressed for being in isolation alone, adding that the patient was in touch with his family and friends in Italy.
Abayomi, however, said the level of viral load in his body had gone down and that if that continued, in the next few days, he might be discharged if he tested negative to the disease.
The commissioner noted that government would not just release him immediately he tested negative to the disease, but would still keep him and run a second test in few days to ascertained he was completely free of the disease before letting him go back to his country.
On the people who alighted from the Turkish Airline on arrival in Lagos, he said government had been able to trace 13 of the remaining 15 contacts, leaving only two that had not been reached, saying that if at the end of today, they could not be reached, he would release their names to the media declaring them wanted.
