Ebonyi: 20 hospital staff test positive for coronavirus

TRACKING____At least 20 staff of the Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital Abakaliki (AEFUTHA), Ebonyi State have tested positive for coronavirus since June 29, 2020.
This came as the state government yesterday said schools across the state remain closed.

The AE-FUTHA Chairman, Medical Advisory Committee (CMAC), Dr. Richard Ewa, disclosed the number of health workers who tested positive for the virus in a circular dated June 29, 2020 and distributed to the head of departments, head of units and staff of the hospital.

According to the circular, the first six confirmed cases in the hospital were those involved in the management of a patient who tested positive while the other 14 cases had no traceable contact to patients in the hospital.

The secular reads in part: “We want to inform all of us that the hospital recorded the first six confirmed cases among staff who were involved in the management of a patient who later turned positive.
“We have also recorded 14 other confirmed cases that had no traceable contact to patients in the hospital, hence community transmission highly suspected.

“And all other staff are sent on self-isolation and are being monitored by the hospital surveillance and contact tracing team.”

The circular urged all staff of the hospital to apply basic NCDC protocols of infection prevention and control in and outside the hospital to protect themselves, their families, colleagues and communities at large.

Investigation revealed that AEFUTHA 2 Laboratory and Psychiatric units were shut down.

Face masks, face shields and handsanitizershave beenprovided forstaff mostly in the affected units. Investigation further revealed that over 20 per cent of the staff who are showing symptoms for the virus have embarked on self-isolation.

The majority are those in the Revenue, Lab and Admin departments. Meanwhile, the state Deputy Governor, Dr. Kelechi Igwe, said in a statement in Abakaliki that schools across would remain closed for now.

This came as the state recorded 108 new cases of the virus bringing the total number of the cases to 616. Igwe said the decision not to reopen schools became imperative after reviewing the situation on the spread of the virus in the state.

The deputy governor urged the people, especially parents, to take the decision in good faith since no drug or vaccine had been globally or nationally certified for the treatment of the deadly virus.