The Lagos state government has said a Chinese citizen, who was suspected to have coronavirus, has tested negative to the infection.
The Chinese national got admitted into Reddington Hospital, Ikeja, after experiencing symptoms of fever on February 26.
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Commissioner for Health, Professor Akin Abayomi, made this known through a press statement on February 27, noting that;
The likelihood of COVID-19 infection in this particular patient was very low and the conclusion of investigations and sophisticated testing confirmed that no case of Coronavirus exists in Lagos State till date.
He reassured Lagosians that vigilance levels are very high and they are putting more measures in place to safe guard the state.
Aayomi explained that;
From our investigation, we gathered that a Chinese citizen who arrived in Nigeria from China 7 weeks ago presented at Reddington Hospital yesterday complaining about fever. The hospital in keeping with the advisory we earlier issued, correctly maintained a high index of suspicion, isolated the patient and reported the case to the Ministry.
While giving details of the investigations, Abayomi said;
The patient was transferred to the State Isolation Unit at the Mainland hospital which is our specialised infectious disease hospital. His blood samples were taken to the Virology laboratory for analysis and it came out negative.
On February 26, group medical director of Reddington Hospital Group, Olutunde Lalude, said the Chinese national, who arrived in Nigeria seven weeks ago, had undergone test for coronavirus.
Lalude noted that the man presented himself at the hospital while complaining of fever, one of the symptoms of coronavirus.
He said as a precautionary measure, the man was isolated while health authorities in the state were alerted.
He also dismissed the rumour that a coronavirus victim was admitted in the hospital, saying “the risk is thought to be low and so far patient has not been diagnosed with the disease”.
