Kogi state government accuses NCDC of unethical practice, says agency violates own protocol to nail state

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The Kogi state government has said that the Nigeria center for Disease Control, (NCDC) in its desperation to record a Covid-19 case against the state violated its own guidelines and protocol for declaring a case.

In a statement by Dr Saka Haruna Audu, Commissioner for Health Kogi State, on Sunday in Lokoja, said even when they claimed that the patient was COVID-19 positive, the patient was yet to be taken to an isolation center till date.

The commissioner who was reacting to last week declaration of two COVID-19 cases against the state, noted that the patient’s son who was also purported to be positive was asked to go home and has remained with his father in the hospital running errands going even as far as Suleja, in Niger State, asking “Who are we fooling?

His words “One needs not to dig deeper to see the handwriting clearly written on the wall at how desperate NCDC is to nail Kogi State with a Covid-19 case and there is no telling how low they are willing to stoop to do so.

“They claim the patient was positive but hasn’t been taken to an Isolation centre. As at this moment, he is still in the National Hospital.

“His son who was also purported to be positive was asked to go home! He remained with his father in the Hospital running errands going even as far as Suleja, in Niger State. Who are we fooling?

“It should be mentioned also that the patient’s relation initially cried out to us to help evacuate them from the National Hospital but on arriving there to evacuate them, and conduct a confirmatory test using a private molecular laboratory as well as Kogi State Rapid test kits, the patient eventually denied us the opportunity to get it done, siting fear of receiving punishment from the Federal Government (NCDC). Being able to carry out this independent verification will have put to rest this matter once and for all.

“We also wish to categorically state that though NCDC has consistently refused to support Kogi State in her fight against Covid-19, WHO had been part of our team till date. Though NCDC refused to follow their own protocols on visiting the State, WHO staff who travelled out of our State and returned have always obeyed the rule of self-isolation for 14 days.

“Despite the fact that we do not accept the fictitious cases, we have gone ahead to do contact tracing to identify all those who came in contact with them, tested them and they all came back negative. They will be retested in the next 14 days post the first contact.