By Idowu Abdullahi,
The Adamawa State Government has disclosed that a medical doctor has tested positive for coronavirus, thus leaving the state with two confirmed cases of the global pandemic.
It explained that though the new patient is one of the medical doctors working at a hospital in Mubi area of the state, the government is working towards aggressive testing and contact tracing to flatten the curve of the virus in the state.
The State’s Governor, Ahmadu Fintiri, who regretted the development said the state was still with an index case as the only confirmed case with no discharge or fatality recorded till Monday’s evening.
The Governor, who confirmed the second case during a statewide broadcast on Tuesday, revealed that the index case was nearing complete recovery when the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) sent in the state’s eight pending samples’ result with one positive and six other negatives while one sample is still pending.
He noted that the second patient, who is a health worker does not have any contact with the index case, adding that aggressive contact tracing will be ensured as the new patient would have had contact with several people in his line of duty.
Fintiri called on the residents to adhere to safety regulations and lockdown directive, adding that with the new case, there is a high probability of community spread which, he said, his government would put all necessary measures in place in addressing the situation.
“What is striking about this case is the fact that it is not linked to the index case. Last week, we sent 8 samples to Abuja. 5 were direct contacts of the index case as traced; while 3 were new suspicious cases who were showing symptoms.
“Having additional cases in the State is truly worrisome. More disturbing is the fact that the victim is a medical doctor in one of our hospitals in Mubi, who must have had contact with many people in the course of discharging his duties lawfully.
“This indeed places on our shoulder, a herculean task of contact tracing which is not only tedious but strenuous. While the contact tracing is no doubt daunting, more scaring is the fact that we may be sliding into the most dangerous phase of the pandemic, which is community transmission of the virus.
“It is on record that our Index Case is a returnee from Kano, and therefore we are certain of how the disease was couriered into the State. But when the case is a doctor, resident in a public hospital with access to colleagues and countless patients, the level of Community Infection can best be imagined,” the Governor said.
