Contact-tracing: NCDC rates Akwa Ibom highly

The National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has rated Akwa Ibom highly in contact-tracing and other critical elements in the fight against COVID-19 pandemic.

In a release entitled “Epi Summary of Covid-19 outbreak in Akwa Ibom State, dated April 21, 2020, the agency said Akwa Ibom has done a lot in stemming the rate of the infection through contact tracing.

The agency scored the state government 99 percent in percentage of contacts traced. It also scored the state 2.7 percent on the “Proportions of Contacts that have developed (suggestive) symptoms which is a great success ratio.

“This is a great news and a huge testament to the proactive stance of His Excellency, Governor Udom Emmanuel who has been front and centre in the fight to contain this deadly pandemic,”  Emmanuel Ekuwem, chairman of the COVID-19 management committee and the secretary to the state government, said.

“You will recall that at the outbreak of this pandemic, Governor Emmanuel had in his previous state broadcast to the people harped on contact tracing as a major means of stemming the rate of infection. We are happy that his effort and leadership has borne great results.

“Look at the level of preparedness the State Government made- the world class isolation centres at the Ibom Specialist Hospital, the one at Ikot Ekpene, and the one currently under construction at Ituk Mbang, this shows a leader who was prepared and ready for a time like this.

“Earlier this week, the governor, had directed that an aggressive testing be carried out throughout the State, and we are seeing the result of that aggressive approach by the low number of people infected in the State.”