Coronavirus: Borno State Update:two Absconded Patients Found. ... No More Patient On The Run, Says Commissioner 

Absconded patients who tested positive to COVID-19 have been found on Monday in Maiduguri after they were declared wanted on Sunday.

Borno State Commissioner for information and a member of the state’s high powered response team, Babakura Abba Jato confirmed that at the team’s daily media update which took place on Monday evening at the Government House in Maiduguri.

With the development, no COVID-19 patient is on the run, Jato noted.

He explained that Abbas Kaka Hassan, 24 year-old male, was traced at about 2.00am in Gwange II, Maiduguri and moved to hospital isolation.

A combined team of health surveillance and investigation team, backed by police escort traced the patient in a critical state at his family house. He was immediately moved on stretcher and is on ventilator at an isolation centre.

The other patient, Hauwa Mohammed, a 42 year old female reported herself to the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital following which she received apologies from laboratory officials at the UMTH and Borno’s commissioner of health.

The apology became necessary after Hauwa protested that she did not receive communication from the COVID-19 lab at UMTH or officials of the state response team asking her to come for hospital isolation even though she had been on self isolation since her sample was taken for test due to exposure to a confirmed case days back.

Borno’s commissioner for health and secretary of the state’s high powered response team in the afternoon noted that the patient brought herself in a very responsible and medically professional manner, which was highly commendable.

Dr. Kwayabura said that even though Hauwa was on self isolation since her sample was collected, a surveillance and investigation team has been deployed to assess risks of infection in line with the protocol of dealing with epidemics and pandemics.

With Hauwa’s return, all COVID-19 patients in Borno state are now fully accounted for.

The commissioner said that efforts are being made to revive the patient while a contact tracing and surveillance team had identified persons who may have had direct and indirect contacts with the two patients for risk assessment, isolation advice, and collection of samples for tests.

The commissioner called on members of the public to show empathy and compassion rather than stigmatize anyone who tests positive because no one is beyond infection while stigmatization only keeps patients away from isolation centres thereby increasing possibility of spread.