From Olukayode Idowu, Maiduguri
Borno State Government has swung into action to get all the people that the person confirmed to have been killed by coronavirus (COVID-19) got in contact with in the state are captured and made to undergo the normal procedures.
The state was officially confirmed as having it’s first case of COVID-17 after the record published overnight by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control.
The victim, Babangida.Buba, (who his employers Medecins Sans Frontieres otherwise called Doctors Without Borders would not want published but is already in the press), was rushed to Maiduguri from Pulka in the course of last week when his health condition degenerated.
He was an anesthetic nurse, and had previously worked and retired from the
Borno State Hospital Management Board, Borno.
A statement by Siham Hajaj, MSF Head of Mission, Nigeria on Monday said “MSF is now supporting the Ministry of Health in contact tracing.”
The statement further read: “It is with profound sadness that I confirm the loss of one of our colleagues. Our dear colleague died on 18 April in Maiduguri, and post mortem test results indicated that they were positive for COVID-19.
“Due to patient confidentiality we cannot disclose the identity of this patient. Our thoughts and our deepest sympathies are with the family of our departed colleague.
MSF is now supporting the Ministry of Health in contact tracing.”
It added that: “Our projects will continue to operate, providing essential treatment for communities in Nigeria. In all our projects and in order to protect our staff and patients, MSF teams have strengthened infection prevention measures, hygiene facilities, infection control and the establishment of isolation spaces.”
It said: “We pay tribute to the work and contribution of our colleague, and we stand in solidarity with all health workers, now.”