Plateau state government on Wednesday closed down a private hospital in Jos, the Rayfield Medical center, for public safety for two weeks following the facility’s exposure to the dreaded Coronavirus disease. Commissioner for Health in the state, Dr Nimkong Lar, who addressed newsmen in Jos said that two patients who were being managed in the hospital developed COVID-19.
In his words “screening of primary and secondary contacts revealed that 17 staff of the hospital have tested positive for the virus and are also being attended to by the State Ministry of Health officials.” “Unfortunately we lost one of the two persons who were been treated at the hospital.” He said that as of 18 of June 2020, Plateau state now has 198 cases of the virus. “As of today, 29 health workers have tested positive to the virus in Plateau.”
Lar called on the people of the state not to panic as government is on top of the situation. In a related development, the State Government has decried the lack of adherence to guidelines for COVID-19 by most individuals and some organisations following the suspension of the lockdown order by Governor Simon Lalong on 11th June, 2020.
This was contained in a statement signed by Dan Manjang the Commissioner for information and communication and made available to newsmen in Jos. He said that government notes the flagrant disregard for the compulsory use of face masks by all citizens outside their homes where many go about without any.
