Nasarawa records first COVID-19 case

Nasarawa state has recorded its first confirmed COVID-19 case. 

Abdullahi Sule, governor of the state, confirmed the development while briefing journalists in Lafia, the state capital, on Tuesday.

Sule said the patient is a 25-year-old lady who recently travelled from Kano state to Kokona local government area in Nasarawa.

NAN reports that the governor said samples were recently taken from five persons for testing at the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) designated laboratory; the results came back on Monday, with four returning negative, while one was positive.

“Four out of the five, including the lady that was said to have run away from Abuja and isolated in Akwanga, their results came out yesterday and were negative,” he said.

“However, we are not that lucky with the fifth case. It is sad for me to announce that Nasarawa state has its first case of COVID-19.”

Sule added that the lady has been evacuated from Kokona to an isolation centre in Lafia where there are better facilities to manage her case.

He said family members of the patient have been quarantined and would be tested to ascertain their status.

He, however, decried the attitude of people towards health personnel working to contain the disease.

The governor recalled that efforts by health personnel to get sample from the confirmed case was initially resisted by family members, who hid the lady.

“I want to use this opportunity to encourage our people, especially the traders that continue to travel to some of these high-risk places like Lagos and Kano, to desist as they could be doing more harm to their family than even the state,” he said.

“So I encourage our people to bear with the government against all these travels at this moment especially to areas of high risk.”

He asked residents to get tested if they noticed any symptoms, adding that “COVID-19 is not a death sentence”.

The governor also asked residents of the state to continue to adhere to all safety directives, especially physical distancing and maintaining personal hygiene.