Tears as Ekiti buries third COVID-19 patient

The remains of the third COVID -19 patient in Ekiti state was laid to rest on Friday in the state.

The 29-year old pregnant woman was buried according to Islamic rite.

The woman, who sneaked into the state from Lagos in active labour and slid into coma before being diagnosed of COVID-19 infection, died on Wednesday, at the Federal Teaching Hospital, Ido Ekiti due to cardiac arrest and other issues arising from a long intense labour.

Islamic religious leaders led government officials and the deceased family in prayer, after which his body was buried.

The Commissioner for Health, Dr. Mojisola Yaya-Kolade, while addressing journalists in Ado Ekiti, said the deceased was committed to Mother Earth in strict compliance with the recommendations of the World Health Organization.

Reeling out the statistics of index cases of Coronavirus in Ekiti State, she said: “as of now, we have only recorded four cases. We have one active, one dead, and two discharged cases.

“The 45 -year old doctor who was infected by the dead victim is responding to treatment in our isolation centre.

“The young woman has been buried according to Islamic rites. And the government of Ekiti State will liaise with the family on how to raise the surviving baby”.

The commissioner said the private hospital where the dead woman was operated upon, leading to the infection of the doctor now in isolation, had been shut.

She added: “We are also procuring more protective kits like face mask, hand gloves and sanitisers for low risk of contact of the disease”.

Yaya-Kolade stated that no doctor had been reported to have behaved in unprofessional manner to intending patients, saying such act won’t be tolerated in any public health institutions in Ekiti.

The Commissioner also directed the private hospitals intending to treat Covid 19 patients to register in line with the directive of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control.

Also speaking, the Director General, Office of Strategic Transformation and Delivery, Prof. Bolaji Aluko, announced the government’s decision to place ban on inter-state movement of corpse.

“For this period of lockdown, corpses will not be allowed into Ekiti, since there is no way we can verify the cause of the death. All corpses must be stopped at the borders and this we have conveyed to the security”.

The Information Commissioner, Mr. Muyiwa Olumilua allayed the fears of the residents about looming shortage of food in the state owing to blockage of borders, saying efforts will be made to make essential commodities available during the lockdown.

Olumilua applauded the federal government, individuals, corporate bodies and institutions, for donating generously to contain the spread of the disease in Ekiti.