Raymond Dokpesi, seven family members test positive for coronavirus

The founder of DAAR Communications, Raymond Dokpesi, and seven of his family members have tested positive for coronavirus, AIT, a subsidiary of his company, reported Friday.

This is coming four days after his son contracted the virus.

Since the younger Dokpesi had the virus, contact tracing by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, was said to have begun.

Results of the tests by the agency showed that eight other members of the Dokpesi family, among whom are Mr Dokpesi’s daughter-in-law, had been infected, AIT said.

The infected members have been reportedly evacuated to the isolation centre at the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, Gwagwalada.

“I am quite OK, I feel very well,” AIT quoted Mr Dokpesi saying Friday shortly before the evacuation obviously pointing to his current asymptomatic status.

Tests have also been reportedly extended to senior staffers who had been in close contact with the company’s index case.

AIT also said the FCT authority has fumigated the company’s premises.

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Nigeria has seen a spike in cases of coronavirus as it recorded over 500 cases in the last three days.

Total cases inch towards 2000 with over 50 deaths, and more than 300 recoveries.

The fifth week of lockdown in Lagos, Abuja and Ogun is to be relaxed Monday, and there are concerns about the implication of the action despite the rise in cases.

Lagos remains the epicentre of the infection in the country, but Kano has seen a surge in cases in the last five days, a time within which its figure tripled to over 210 as of Thursday night.

Lagos, Kano and Abuja account for about 70 per cent of the country’s cases of the contagion.