There is disquiet in Niger state following the purported escape of a woman from government isolation centre same day the state government confirmed a record of three fresh Covid–19 positive cases.
This is as those quarantined at the centre in Minna launched protest over ‘ill-treatment’.
The state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Muhammad Makusidi, said the new cases include a medical Doctor who returned from Kano and works with Federal Medical Centre (FMC) Bida, a returnee from Akwa Ibom state who is from Kagara and a female resident of Suleja town who is also a returnee from Kano.
Makusidi said a confirmed case from Kano, hitherto in isolation at the Minna isolation centre, has absconded and that the committee is making frantic efforts to trace and return him back.
He said the female victim had started exhibiting the symptoms of the disease from Kano but found her way back to the state allegedly due to lack of attention, adding that she was immediately approached by some members of the state Covid-19 committee following a tip off where she profusely denied exhibiting any of the symptoms.
The commissioner stated that the three new confirmed cases, who are already quarantined at the state government facility, are being handled accordingly.
He said one confirmed case, out of the six recorded so far from the state, has been discharged after testing negative to the virus twice.
Although, the commissioner did not give details on how the women escaped from isolation centre, it was learnt that the positive case complained about the poor condition of the isolation centre before escaping to unknown destination.
However, the state has discharged the second index case recorded in the state while the first case is still under medication
Meanwhile, some persons quarantined at government facility in Minna, Wednesday, protested against the inhuman condition at the facility in which they are being kept.
While expressing their anger over the conditions at the facility, the protesters claimed that feeding was not forthcoming from government.
They requested to be allowed home, instead of dying in hunger at quarantine.
In the same vain, some residents have expressed concern over the porous borders in the state responsible for increasing Covid – 19 cases in the state.
A resident of Minna identified as Zubairu Imam lamented that government has consistently refused to enforce closure of borders with order states, thereby making it possible for coronavirus carriers to enter Niger at will which has caused high risk to the people in the state.
