Health authorities in Cross River State have announced the detection of a new COVID-19 case in the state.
The State Commissioner for Health, Henry Ayuk, disclosed this on Tuesday at a news briefing in Calabar, saying the patient is a 53-year-old Chinese national working with Lafarge in Akamkpa Local Government Area.
According to him, the patient arrived in Nigeria on March 17 and later fell ill before being moved to the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH), where samples were taken and the infection was confirmed after proper testing protocols.
“We are, however, happy to report that he is doing well”, Ayuk said, adding that there was no cause for alarm as the state’s health system had been strengthened for effective surveillance and response.
He explained that although the ministry had recorded isolated infections over time, it remained fully prepared to manage any outbreak.
“When this case was reported a few days ago, we ensured all confirmation protocols were properly followed. The patient has since been confirmed positive”, he said.
State Epidemiologist, Inyang Ekpenyong, said the emergency response system had been activated, with contact tracing and line listing of all possible contacts already underway.
She noted that the last confirmed COVID-19 case in Cross River was in 2022, but said investigations suggested the patient may have contracted the virus within Nigeria due to the incubation period.
“We have activated the emergency response centre and deployed rapid response teams to Akamkpa.
While we cannot stop the disease entirely, we can prevent an outbreak through effective containment”, she said.
Also speaking, the World Health Organisation (WHO) Coordinator in Cross River, Dr. Yewande Olatunde, urged residents to remain vigilant and adhere to preventive measures.
