Plateau discharges six COVID-19 patients

Plateau State Government has discharged six more COVID-19 patients from the Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH).

The State Commissioner for Health, Nimkong Lar, disclosed this during the update on Combat of COVID-19 briefing at the Government House in Jos on Friday.

He said the patients had clinically improved and tested negative to the disease after their samples were taken for tests.

He said it was part of the new criteria given by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), for the discharge of COVID-19 patients.

“The six patients bring to 10 the number of COVID-19 cases so far discharged in the state.

“The first index case in the state was discharged on May 7, another three on May 13, while six were discharged today,” he explained.

He said 11 confirmed cases were receiving treatment at JUTH, saying they were in stable condition and responding to treatment.

Mr Lar explained that there was a mix up in the number of fresh confirmed cases in Plateau as released by the NCDC on Friday.

“Only one case is fresh, the other four were repeat tests of the patients receiving treatment at JUTH,” he said.

He said the total number of confirmed cases in the state was 21 and not 25, and that 255 suspected cases of COVID-19 were quarantined at its centres across the state.

In his remarks, the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Danladi Atu, said the state government had arrested persons using fake passes during its monitoring exercise on compliance with COVID-19 government’s directives.

He said the exercise was to checkmate indiscriminate movement of persons not on essential services and enforce compliance with interstate movements’ restrictions.

The SSG said commercial motorcyclists were being arrested for conveying travellers using illegal routes into the state.

He said no fewer than 1,000 persons were stranded at the Plateau/Bauchi border because of the government’s ban on interstate movement.

He said notwithstanding relaxation of the total lockdown in the state from midnight Thursday to midnight Sunday, government’s strict regulations on religious and social gathering still persisted.

According to him, defaulters will be arrested.

Also speaking, the Commissioner for Information, Dan Manjang, urged Plateau residents to adhere to the federal government’s curfew of 8pm to 6am, saying the directive was still in place in the state even with relaxed lockdown.

(NAN)