Akwa Ibom State Government says two out of the 29 COVID-19 persons undergoing treatment at its medical facilities have been discharged.
The State Incident Manager and Commissioner for Health, Dominic Ukpong who announced this said those discharged have been certified negative by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) bringing to 16, the total number of those treated and discharged of the viral infection since the first set of cases were recorded on April 1, 2020.
Ukpong said the state government has expended so much in healthcare delivery and in emergency operations, adding it accounted for the 100% recovery rate currently being experienced in the state.
“Yesterday, you saw the magnificent 300 – bed facility that the Governor put up at Ituk Mbang, and I told people that it is going to complement the services provided in the earlier facilities provided at Ikot Ekpene and the one here at the Ibom Specialist Hospital.”
Ukpong also maintained that the activities of persons who sneaked into the state under the guises of bringing in livestock and other food items, probably accounted for the huge figures recorded in the last few days.
He said the increased number of cases in the state has also increased the contacts currently being traced in the state, and applauded the health management officials for being responsive and dedicated to their duties.
He maintained that the Governor had swiftly responded with a ban on movements of livestock into the state, as well as the installation of surveillance cameras at entry points into the state.
The Commissioner revealed that there had been cases of people arriving the COVID -19 emergency center with other symptoms because of the free treatment offered by the state government.
“People with ulcer, diabetes and other medical conditions other than COVID-19 do approach the center and when we examine them and find out that it is not COVID-19, they start pleading that we should take them in because of the attention we give our patients. Some even ask for palliatives, but people must know that those emergency lines are strictly for COVID-19 emergencies.”
Akwa Ibom has so far recorded two deaths from the pandemic, from a total of 45 confirmed by the NCDC.
