Covid - 19: Umahi shuts down hospital, revokes certificate, directs prosecution.

Ebonyi State Governor, Chief David Umahi has directed for the immediate sealing of the private hospital where the COVID-19 death occurred in the state.

He also ordered for the immediate revocation of their certificate of occupancy and prosecution in accordance with Ebonyi state Corona virus and other Dangerous infection disease and related matters Law 2020.

In a release signed by the Special Assistant to the Governor on Media and Publicity, Mr. Francis Nweze, the Governor explained that the essence of directive was to serve as a deterrent to other hospitals that may attempt managing covid -19 patients without following NCDC protocol.

Nwaeze said that the Governor gave the order after an interactive chat with members of the Nigeria Center for Disease Control NCDC Response Team At the New Government House Abakaliki, Ebonyi State.

The state Governor also debunked the rumors making the round that the deceased COVID-19 patient is a judiciary staff adding that nobody died in the Judiciary and such wrong information should be corrected.

“The Governor during the chat directed that the COVID-19 reports in Ebonyi State should henceforth be made on a daily basis and should not be aggregated again. “Separate reports, if it is ten in a day, report the breakdown before aggregating them.”

He explained that there are plans by the state government to build two new testing centers at Onicha and Ishielu Local Government Areas which will bring to 3 the number of treatment centers in the state representing one per Senatorial Zones in the state.

He said that the plan would help in making testing of suspected cases easier and faster across the state.