Coronavirus: Kwara begins contact tracing of 75 persons

Kwara  State Government, yesterday said at least 75 persons who had contact with the two COVID-19 patients in the state were under contact-tracing in order to curb the spread in the state.
Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, who  stated this during a press briefing held at the Government House, Illorin, urged Kwarans to remain calm and vigilant.
“Yesterday evening, we got  the result of two persons who tested positive for COVID-19 in Kwara State. One is the wife of the late patient who died at the University of Ilorin Teaching (UITH) and the second person is a diabetic patient who also had travel history and he has since gone to self-isolation with his wife.
“Our job is cut out for us and we are definitely not dropping the ball. Contact tracing by the Rapid Response Team of the medical advisory committee has so far netted 75 persons who have had contacts with the cases  and the suspected case at UITH.”

He said the state is not helpless or without reasonable preparation about the outbreak of the pandemic.
“We  urge Kwarans to avoid crowded space, isolate themselves and call our helplines if they have just returned from places of interest in the last three weeks.
‘‘The government is extending the ongoing fumigation exercise to all the places of interest, including the relevant locations in Offa and Ilorin, where contamination may have occurred as a result of how infectious the disease is.”he said.
Reacting to the case of Muideen Obanimomo at  the University of Ilorin, Teaching Hospital, (UITH), who reportedly died of COVID-19, AbdulRahman said: “The government is utterly disappointed at the breach of trust that played out in the UITH case. Without prejudice to the internal investigation by UITH, we demand immediate suspension of Prof. Alakija Kazeem Salami and every other official of UITH whose professional misconducts brought us down this path pending the outcome of the ongoing probe.
Meanwhile, the UITH authorities  have  suspended Alakija Salami, a senior consultant at the hospital following the controversy surrounding a patient who died last Friday.
The hospital had been accused of covering up the circumstances that led to the death of the patient, a UK returnee.
Director of Administration,  UITH, David Odaibo,  in a statement said the management approved Salami’s suspension as a result of his conduct in the management of a COVID-19 patient.
“The Management of University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital hereby suspends Prof A.K. Salami as a senior consultant in the hospital. This is as a result of his unethical conduct in the admission, management and eventual release of the corpse of a suspected COVID-19 patient who died in the hospital on the 3rd of April, 2020,” he said.
Odaibo said a 10-member investigation  committee had been set up to look into the case.