Cross River Govt Confirms COVID-19 Case

Hinzugefügt: 2026-05-05

[00:00:00]The world is at risk and it is not only this country. Even in the most advanced countries of the world we are daily at risk of international diseases.

[00:00:15]International health challenges.

[00:00:19]Diseases that can move from one country to the other.

[00:00:27]And so um there is nothing peculiar to Nigeria um which is at stake.

[00:00:38]Like I've often said and all of us realize that fact that we are all at risk of one usually one public health disease or the other.

[00:00:52]We have in the country today freely mobile you know populations from one country to the other.

[00:01:03]You will discover that HIV for instance was first isolated not in Africa.

[00:01:09]In the US was first diagnosed case of HIV.

[00:01:15]Even though today it has become very dominant very prevalent in the third world you know countries.

[00:01:23]Which we know for very obvious reasons why it is so.

[00:01:28]COVID started in the Asian continent.

[00:01:34]Um and then spread quickly across the whole world it became you know a pandemic.

[00:01:41]And the world did everything to curtail it.

[00:01:45]Unfortunately there have been silent infections here and there.

[00:01:48]Reoccurrences here and there.

[00:01:51]But there we are determined that for every um ailment every disease outbreak uh our state even if it's identified here in the in the state there should be no alarm.

[00:02:09]The state is doing well in terms of surveillance.

[00:02:12]So when we detect a case uh of outbreak whatever it is we do our best to ensure that um we curtail it. So there's no alarm.

[00:02:29]A few days ago uh about three four days ago we had we had a case of COVID-19 that had been confirmed in the state.

[00:02:41]And probably the news media must have carried it here and there.

[00:02:46]But officially speaking from the government of Cross River State we are announcing it.

[00:02:52]We decided to be careful to confirm and ensure that the processes involved with the identifying and confirming every case of COVID-19 have been done. The The protocols have been followed and it's confirmed. I would not like to announce something that it is not there.

[00:03:14]They discover that it is not there.

[00:03:16]So um we have a positive case.

[00:03:23]Um a Chinese that flew into the country exactly a month ago.

[00:03:34]And he works with Lafarge.

[00:03:39]Here in Akamkpa local government in Famossing area.

[00:03:45]That case was um um reported first in terms of I mean it has the the man had the man of about 53 years or so had symptoms that were treated silently.

[00:04:02]Um but the symptoms become it became a full-blown disease was if taken to the teaching hospital.

[00:04:12]From there sample was collected and was confirmed.

[00:04:18]Um so uh today uh it is the case is still being managed at our center >> [clears throat] >> in the the dedicated to the state.

[00:04:33]And he's doing well in terms of the clinical improvement. He's improving.

[00:04:41]But um we needed to respond adequately.

[00:04:45]I instituted a a public health um response uh adequately we've declared we've activated our public health emergency operation center in the state.

[00:05:00]Uh we have deployed our rapid response teams to the local governments in in to the to Akamkpa.

[00:05:11]And um our team led by the epidemiologist who will be speaking to you shortly after me.

[00:05:19]Um had taken is in the forefront. They have shortly enlisted um a couple of uh um contacts.

[00:05:34]And um we are monitoring closely for the emergence of symptoms that mimic uh COVID-19.

[00:05:45]So I want to like I mentioned our teams are already doing that and ensuring that um uh symptoms that are um uh appear along the way uh come up along the way are followed strictly.

[00:06:01]So that anybody with such um uh an appearance that uh mean when I talk about appearance I'm talking about the symptoms.

[00:06:10]Um is followed up for possible um um investigation. [clears throat] So Cross River is is safe from the point of view of um uh um um our risk management.

[00:06:29]We are there there is no point to to be alarmed. The governor is the forefront of a people first mantra.

[00:06:40]And um >> [snorts] >> let me assure you that disease there's no way we can stop disease outbreaks.

[00:06:49]But what would be wrong is if there's an outbreak and the government is not able to contain it.

[00:06:57]We'll do our best to reduce the emergence of outbreaks by ensuring the implementation of public health regulations in the state for every outbreak.

[00:07:13]And ensuring that uh people do not die.

[00:07:20]The era of people dying um because of outbreaks has ceased since we came on board.

[00:07:29]2002 before 2003 where we came on board there were a lot of people dying. Cholera one thing or the other mpox and so forth.

[00:07:41]But today it is not that those diseases have been eliminated but when they appear we curtail that as much as possible. We are doing our very our our best to moderate the environments um and make them um less attractive for these outbreaks.

[00:08:03]But much will depend on all of us and that is why the gentlemen of the press have been invited here because [snorts] through your cooperation information like this will get out to to uh the public and the public will be guided appropriately.

[00:08:23]Having said that I want to welcome you once again to thank you and um invite um my [snorts] colleague um Dr. Blessing Young to who is the state epidemiologist to take over from here.

[00:08:44]And uh