COVID-19 Patient Ran Away From An Isolation Center In Plateau State

A COVID-19 patient had illegally made his way out of an Isolation Center in Plateau State,this was disclosed by the Coordinator, World Health Organisation, Williams Bassi.

The Coordinator revealed this during a courtesy visit to the palace of the Gbong Gwom Jos, Jacob Buba, on Thursday,June 4th,2020.

The News Agency of Nigeria,NAN,reported that the officials of the National Orientation Agency, WHO and the state Ministry of Information had paid a courtesy visit to the Traditional leader to begin the campaign on COVID-19 in Jos North,Plateau State Healthforbes Media reporting.

Bassi, however,made it known that efforts were on to trace the run away patient and return him to the centre to complete his treatment.

Bassi said the challenge being experienced in the state was that people who had tested positive refused to leave their homes to receive treatment at the isolation centres.

“The major problem we have is that so many people have tested positive but have refused to go to the isolation centre, an example is the Duala Area in Jos North.

“They keep refusing to go to the isolation centres until some demands are met, and this is not good for us all.He said

Bassi noted that early identification, isolation and treatment were the best way to stop the spread of the Virus.

 the Director, NOA, Bulus Dabit, said Jos North was the epicentre of the disease in Plateau State, accounting for 76 out of 109 positive cases in the state as of Wednesday June 3.

Dabit said the high number could be because most people in the community did not believe that COVID-19 was real, hence the non-compliance to social distancing and observance of personal hygiene.

He said the high number of cases in the area was what prompted the motorised campaign to enlighten  the people on the dreaded disease.

The director pleaded with the traditional ruler to use his position to impress the message of social/physical distancing, personal hygiene and other safety measures on his subjects as non-compliance was higher in rural communities.

Gyang Buba  stated that he was working with government and relevant agencies to spread awareness of the Pandemic to local communities.

He advised the public to always eat foods that could boost immunity as having a strong immune system was one of the ways to combat the disease.

The Gbong Gwom  stated that it was a vital indicationthat the virus could be defeated in the state as the number of discharged cases exceeded the number of active cases.