Amaku COVID-19 scare: No cause for alarm, declares Anambra health commissioner

Anambra State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Vincent Okpala has assured Ndi Anambra and the general public that the state is still safe from COVID-19 pandemic.

He said “There is no cause for alarm.”

The commissioner gave the assurance while being interviewed at Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University Teaching Hospital (COOUTH), Amaku, Awka following an incident of sudden death of young man on March 31.

The young man was a passenger in an Awka-bound bus from Onitsha.

The passenger, (names withheld) was said to have experienced severe health challenge during the journey that led to his death.

According to the commissioner, the man, a bricklayer, was travelling from Igbariam axis toward Awka and developed severe abdominal distress which left him coughing.

This caused panic in the bus and the passengers decided to bring him to the teaching hospital. On arrival, the state COVID-19 team was alerted and following due diligence with regard to the cause of death.

His corpse had since been deposited in the morgue of the hospital.

Dr. Okpala, then, said that so far his death could not be linked to Coronavirus pandemic. “The cause of his death did not meet the condition to be declared as COVID-19.

“It is very unlikely that it is from the disease. There is absolutely no cause for alarm,” Dr. Okpala declared emphatically.

Meanwhile, other passengers that came in the bus were counseled and presented face masks before they were dispersed.

The COVID-19 symptoms as released by Nigeria Centre for Disease Control include dry coughing, sneezing, body pains, high fever and difficulty in breathing.

The state government advised that any person showing any of the symptoms, should not indulge in self-medication based on assumptions, rather such individuals should contact the state’s Public Health Emergency Operation Centre.