COVID-19: No Sign Of Widespread Transmission In Cross River, Says NCDC

The confirmation of the disease came years after the COVID-19 pandemic gripped the world, leading to deaths and millions of cases.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) says there are no signs of widespread COVID-19 transmission in Cross River.

“All identified contacts are being followed up appropriately, and there is no evidence at this time of widespread transmission,” the NCDC said in a statement issued by its director-general, Jide Idris.

On Tuesday, the Cross River State Government confirmed a fresh COVID-19 case, years after the disease shut down economies and killed millions of people globally.

A laboratory technician holds a Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccines at the Bidafarma wholesale distribution cooperative in Santa Fe, on the outskirts of near Granada, on January 21, 2021.

According to the Cross River State Commissioner for Health, Henry Ayuk, the index case, a Chinese national who works in Akamkpa Local Government Area of the coastal state, arrived in Nigeria on March 17. He later developed symptoms of the disease.

But the NCDC says the case has been isolated and is being managed with the national treatment guidelines for the disease.

“The patient is in stable condition and responding to care,” Idris said.

Following the confirmation of the case, the NCDC, support partners, and the Cross River State Ministry of Health have “activated response measures, including contact tracing, surveillance, and infection prevention & control”.

“We continue to maintain routine surveillance for COVID-19 and other respiratory infections,” the public health institute said.

A makeshift camp set up for Covid-19 patients due to limited space inside is pictured outside the Caritas Medical Centre in Hong Kong on February 18, 2022, as the city faces its worst coronavirus wave to date. Peter PARKS / AFP

The agency asked Nigerians to maintain good hand and respiratory hygiene, stay home and seek care if unwell, and also follow updates from official public health authorities.

The confirmation of the disease came years after the COVID-19 pandemic, which was first discovered in China in 2019, gripped the world, leading to deaths and millions of cases. In Nigeria, over 3,000 persons died as a result of the disease.

In the wake of the pandemic, authorities worldwide imposed measures such as lockdowns as part of efforts to contain COVID-19.