A medical doctor, James King, and others who had contact with the coronavirus index case in Kano State, have tested negative for the virus.
King, in a Facebook post on Thursday, narrated how the index case (name withheld) had arrived at the hospital and was later taken into isolation.
The Kano-based doctor explained that the patient withheld information about his recent travel and COVID-19 test, adding that the index case had attended several public events.
According to him, the index case visited the hospital on April 10 with complaints of fever and general body weakness, mouth dryness, loss of appetite.
He said, “It was unknown to us that he was alleged to have travelled abroad too before returning to my resident state via Abuja travelling by road. While travelling by road he stayed briefly in Kaduna before arriving at my resident state on the 25th March 2020.
“He denied all this travel history to us. He also denied having the pertinent coronavirus symptoms — breathlessness and cough. He also hid the fact that he had been to several medical outlets since his return to the state.
“And importantly, he did not provide information that his samples were taken by NCDC for COVID-19 testing before coming to us.”
King added that the patient claimed to have felt ill for a few days and denied symptoms of cough, breathlessness or palpitations.
“Of course, he denied all the above in order for him to have our medical care, putting us all and many others at high risk of the novel pandemic. Many other medical questions were asked and documented.
“He was further evaluated, examined and admitted into a private room upstairs on Friday 10th, April 2020 about 7.30pm by my boss. He had contact with two doctors (my boss and I), three nurses and one non-medical staff.
“We also learnt that during his illness before coming to us, he was attending Friday Mosque prayers, naming ceremonies and other gatherings,” the doctor said.
King stated that health officials came to the hospital the following day and said they had an order from the governor to lock down the hospital.
“(The patient) was whisked away to a quarantine centre on the outskirts of the state. We were placed on isolation too in our hospital facility. Samples were taken from our staff for COVID-19 testing.
“For many days, we could not physically reach our families or anyone. At last, the results came out yesterday afternoon, April 15, 2020 and it was negative for all of us.”
He, however, added that they had yet to be released from isolation.
