The Lagos State government has confirmed the discharge of Nigeria’s index Coronavirus patient.
The patient who is an Italian has been receiving treatment at the Infectious Disease Hospital in Yaba, after testing positive to COVID-19 on February 28.
Read Also: “Nigeria’s Index Coronavirus Patient Tests Negative” – Lagos Commissioner For Health
Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, confirmed the development in a series of tweets on March 20.
In a picture accompanying his tweets, the Italian was seen with the Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, and other health officials.
As the COVID-19 Incident Commander for Lagos, I am glad to inform you that the index case; the Italian gentleman is now negative.
— Babajide Sanwo-Olu (@jidesanwoolu) March 20, 2020
Through a combined effort of Lagos, Ogun State and Fed Health Authorities, we were able to limit the transmission of the virus to a single contact. pic.twitter.com/PDvAsLLAnP
According to Sanwo-Olu, the process involved “aggressive contact tracing and containment strategies”, adding that;
However we now have several new imported cases and we hope we can apply the same contact tracing strategy along with social distancing to slow down the outbreak which may be brewing from these new cases.
The governor also tweeted that;
The index patient consented to donating one unit of white blood (plasma) before he was discharged today. The blood plasma is rich in antibody proteins that target #COVID19 virus. The white blood plasma is frozen in our Bio-bank and will be useful in handling new cases.
According to Sanwo-Olu, the white blood plasma is frozen in Lagos Bio-bank and will be useful in handling new cases in the absence of a defined therapeutic drug for Coronavirus.
He further stated that;
The index patient appreciated the exceptional care and support given to him by the staff of the mainland Infectious Disease Hospital, Yaba, all members of the EOC.
The EOC team was extremely happy to bid the patient farewell. Once again, we like to convey the enthusiasm of our team to do the very best possible in handling incidents of Coronavirus.
