An Italian index case of COVID-19 in Nigeria has been discharged from the Infectious Disease Hospital,Yaba in Lagos having tested negative to the virus.
Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State, in a tweet on Friday night, disclosed the recovery of the Italian patient.
“As the COVID-19 Incident Commander for Lagos, I am glad to inform you that the index case, the Italian gentleman is now negative.
“Through a combined effort of Lagos, Ogun State and Federal Health Authorities, we were able to limit the transmission of the virus to a single contact,” he said.
According to him, limiting the virus transmission involved aggressive contact tracing and containment strategies.
The governor, however, said that the state now have several new imported cases.
He expressed hope that the state government would apply the same contact tracing strategy along with social distancing to slow down the outbreak, that might be brewing from the new cases.
“The index patient consented to donate one unit of white blood (plasma) before he was discharged today.
“The blood plasma is rich in antibody proteins that target COVID-19 virus.
“The white blood plasma is frozen in our Bio-bank and will be useful in handling new cases.
“The blood plasma will be beneficial for the treatment of new patients in the absence of a defined therapeutic drug for COVID-19 yet.
“The patient appreciated the exceptional care and support given to him by staff of the Infectious Disease Hospital, Yaba, and all members of the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) team,” the governor said.
Sanwo-Olu said that the team was extremely happy to bid the patient farewell.
“Once again, we will like to convey the enthusiasm of the EOC team to do the very best possible in handling incidents of COVID-19,” he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the state government had on Feb. 28 confirmed its first case of COVID-19 (Coronavirus).
The virus was brought into the country by an Italian citizen who entered Nigeria on Feb. 25 from Milan, Italy, for a brief business visit.
The index case was confirmed on Feb. 27, and was managed at the Infectious Disease Hospital in Yaba, Lagos. (NAN)