From Maurice Okafor, Enugu
The Enugu State Government has debunked reports that the two newly confirmed COVID -19 cases in Ebonyi state were residing in Oji River Local Government Area of Enugu state before they travelled home and were tested positive.
In a press statement issued on Sunday, the Enugu State Commissioner for Health, Professor Obi Emmanuel, said the patients who are a couple made the claims in order to prevent the Ebonyi State Government from knowing that they disobeyed the inter-state lockdown and came back from Lagos.
The Enugu State Commissioner for Health noted that investigations conducted by the State COVID-19 team proved that the couple had no trace in Oji River, whereas Ebonyi state health authorities eventually found out that the couple lied to them.
The statement read in part: “Following the announcement that two new confirmed COVID-19 positive cases in Ebonyi State involved a couple who travelled to the State from Oji River Local Government Area in Enugu State, where the man purportedly deals in phone accessories, the Enugu State COVID-19 Rapid Response Team immediately moved to investigate and identify their contacts in Oji River LGA for follow up.
“The team however could neither find any proof that this couple did lived in Oji River LGA of Enugu State nor could any ‘contact’ be traced.
“Further communication with the health authorities in Ebonyi State revealed that this couple intentionally deceived the medical team on duty by saying they were coming from Oji River LGA in Enugu State in order to hide the fact that they were on a trip from Lagos State, in an attempt to evade being quarantined.”
He, therefore appealed to residents of the State to remain calm and continue to abide by the preventive measures as directed by the Federal Ministry of Health, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and Enugu State Government.
