Cross River sends sample of dead suspected COVID-19 case for analysis

The Cross River State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Betta Edu, said on Friday the sample of a suspected COVID-19 case in the state had been sent to the Irrua Specialist Hospital in Edo for analysis.

Edu, who was reacting to the death of a nurse at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH), disclosed this to journalists in Calabar.

The commissioner, who is also the Chairman of Cross River State COVID-19 Response Team, said she was aware of the death of the nurse but could not yet confirm whether or not she died of a COVID-19 infection.

She said: “We have sent the sample to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) laboratory in Irrua, Edo State and the result has not been released.”

However, a source at UCTH who pleaded anonymity, said that a nurse working in the hospital presented symptoms of COVID-19 on Wednesday in the Accident and Emergency (AE) Unit.

READ ALSO: Buhari’s handling of COVID-19 an unpardonable leadership failure —PDP

“After review, the deceased was taken to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) while being prepared for the UCTH Isolation Centre, an ICU nurse and an anaesthetist cared for her.

“The patient died on Wednesday night, May 20, although her sample result is yet to be ready,” the source said.

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