Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi state Sunday night announced that the state had recorded 33 cases of Coronavirus infected patients.
But said that 6 persons were treated and discharged at the treatment center, Unity Square Abakaliki.
Umahi disclosed this during a state wide broadcast after a meeting with some stakeholders at the executive chambers old government house, Abakaliki.
While he lamented lack of testing kits in Ebonyi state, he called on federal government and NCDC to do something. Noting that lack of testing kits keep returnees in various holding center for more than 14 days which most of them ends up being infected at the center.
His exact words, “Sudden changes in the case of COVID-19 infection,before now between 26th of April to 20th May , we had a total of 18 cases and 6 were discharged successfully. But on 22nd of May we recorded 9 new cases, 6 from Ishielu local government, 2 from Ikwo and 1 from Izzi LGA.
“The cases were all the people that were collected at the borders traveling, some Delta some Lagos. They sneaked into the state through the borders. No Community infection in Ebonyi state yet. This is very disturbing because if the various inter state lockdown are working then we will not this cases.
“Another problems associated with this is that we are holding these people at the holding down centers in our communities and yet we have issues with testing kits from NCDC,even though they finally brought some which as at today is still not enough. So we wonder how we could be holding some people beyond 14 days. The federal government has to do something about this.
“If you ask us to hold this people,isolate them from the society,we can’t even ask them to go to their houses and isolate,some people live 5 in one room in the rural areas. So the best practices is what we are doing by collecting them at the borders as they sneak and manipulate themselves into the state and then hold them together, have them tested according to the directives of the NCDC.
“When there is no test kits what do we do,some of them have stayed 21 days, some have escaped given that there are no testing kits in all the labs so that we can follow NCDC policies.
“I want to commend Ebonyians, they have followed the case religiously, they have been following the policies but they can’t manipulate the testing nor can they manufacture the testing kits.
“Again,also disturbing is that on 23rd, just yesterday we have another 9 new cases from Afikpo North alone,and we are suspecting that some of these people get infected at the holding down centers. But if we have testing kits, as they come we test them after 14 days and if they are not positive they go. But when you have stayed 21 day and if the thing develops then it’s another problem.
“Today again we have 2 cases from Ohaukwu local government,so on the whole we have 33 cases with 6 discharged. And the breakdown of the cases are as follows: Afikpo North has 9 cases, Izzi 8, Ishielu 6,ikwo 4, Ohaukwu 2 Ohaozara 2,Ebonyi 1,Onicha 1, Ezza North 1. The Governor narrated.”
