Anambra State has recorded its first death, resulting from the coronavirus pandemic.
The State Governor, Willie Obiano disclosed this in a statewide broadcast last night.
According to the governor, the victim was a 66-year old man who did not report his ill-health on time.
The case was said to have reported late to the hospital but by the time his result came back positive 24 hours later, he had already passed away.
“Out of the many tests we have conducted so far, we have recorded 9 positive Covid-19 cases. Four of these cases are currently in our Protective Care Center. Three of the cases have been discharged and only one case has passed on. Ndi Anambra it is important to explain here that the only Covid-19 death we have recorded so far was a 66-year old man who did not report his ill-health on time. There is a possibility that his case would have been managed well if our Team had been alerted on time. I urge you to cooperate with our efforts to protect lives. People who hide their medical conditions run a high risk of dying from Covid-19. Please, let us bear this in mind,” the governor noted.
Governor Obiano said the rise in the reported cases of Covid-19 in Anambra State is as a result of the Aggressive Case Search mounted by the Special Task Force on Covid-19.
He further said following the success of the Task Force at the state level, his government has since extended its activities to the 326 wards in Anambra State for a more aggressive campaign against the pandemic.
The membership of this Task Force at the community level he noted, includes, the Officer-in-Charge of Primary Healthcare Center, the Community Woman Leader, the Community Youth Leader, the Representative of the Ministry of Health and the Representative of the Civil Society.
Obiano explained further; “The Team shall be headed by the Councilor of the Ward but the Local Government Chairman and his Medical Team shall supervise the activities of the entire Team.
“Ndi Anambra, I do not doubt that this structure will help us to ramp up more tests in the various communities and weed out the virus from the populace. We shall continue to innovate and seek new creative responses to Covid-19 as time goes on.
“We have decided to set up a Case Medication Team. This Team is made up of seasoned medical practitioners and public health officers who will deliberate and decide the best medical approaches to adopt on a case-by-case basis.”
Obiano condemned the hostility which suspected patients of Covid-19 suffer in the hands of some health workers, describing it as not acceptable in Anambra State.
In his words, “We cannot encourage any attitude that will discourage possible Covid-19 patients from walking willingly into hospitals to reveal their condition. I fully recognize the overriding importance of our healthcare workers who are on the frontline of the battle against this pandemic. So, we deeply appreciate our healthcare workers but we must also discourage any negative attitude from them where it exists. It is on this note that I wish to appeal for a better understanding and empathy from our healthcare workers and urge them to keep to their professional oath.”
He advised the management of all hospitals in the State to create an Isolation Room where any patient whose sample has been taken for Covid-19 testing can be kept while the result of the test is awaited.
