A man and his wife have deceived medical officials to avoid being isolated after testing positive for coronavirus (COVID-19).
The Commissioner for Health in Enugu State, Obi Ikechukwu, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday.
He disclosed that two new positive cases were confirmed in Ebonyi State and involved a couple who travelled to the state from Oji River in Enugu, where the man purportedly deals in phone accessories.
Ikechukwu explained that the Enugu State Ministry of Health COVID-19 Rapid Response Team immediately moved to investigate and identify their contacts in Oji River for follow up.
He, however, decried that the team could not find any proof that the couple lived in Oji River as claimed and none of their contacts could be traced.
“Further communication with the health authorities in Ebonyi revealed that this couple intentionally deceived the medical team on duty by saying they were coming from Oji River in Enugu, in order to hide the fact that they were on a trip from Lagos State, in an attempt to evade quarantine,” the commissioner said.
He, therefore, appealed to the residents of Enugu to remain calm and continue to abide by the preventive measures as directed by the Federal Government, Federal Ministry of Health, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), and the state government.
Ikechukwu asked them to stay home and only go out when absolutely necessary and wear a mask if they must go out.
He also urged them to practice physical and social distancing, proper respiratory hygiene, and wash their hands as often as possible with soap and running water for at least 20 seconds, as well as use an alcohol-based hand sanitiser in the absence of water.