Dangerous Trend as Infected Persons Shun Isolation Centres

Cases of persons who have tested positive for coronavirus but have refused to report at the accredited isolation centres for treatment have emerged, suggesting an increasing proportion of community transmission of the virus in the country.

The Federal Government yesterday expressed worry that there are confirmed cases who, after testing positive for COVID-19, are not in any of the designated treatment centres.

Health minister, Dr Osagie Ehanire, who described the situation as a significant threat to public health and national security, noted that it was government biggest headache at the moment.

According to the minister, the Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH) cannot account for such persons and ascertain the containment of their infection.

“The recommended global best practice is to admit all persons who test positive for COVID-19 into designated accredited treatment facilities to contain the spread of the virus and ensure prompt management of cases to avoid complications,” he explained.

He also expressed concern over persons with mild or no symptoms who have tested positive, stating that these persons currently constitute the majority of COVID-19 cases in the country.

“They are not unwell but are infectious, and must be referred to isolation and treatment centres with accredited infection prevention and control (IPC) protocols. Failure to isolate all persons results in wasted efforts. Even if only one person who has COVID-19 is not isolated, the infection persists in the community and transmission continues,” he warned.

Ehanire encouraged states to ensure that all persons who test positive for the virus are admitted at the designated centres, noting however that testing cannot be made compulsory.

“We have a better and more appropriate strategy”, he assured, stating that, while the high number of new cases is a manifestation of more efficient testing, it is also of ongoing community transmission.

The minister noted that the structure of the nation’s response was to test people based on set criteria such as travel history, contacts or symptoms or clusters for the best prospects of high yield, and then place those with positive test in treatment and isolation, trace all their contacts and quarantine them for 14 days.

He continued: “Efforts are ongoing to further increase our testing capacity and accredit more laboratories. However, a robust sample transportation infrastructure is in place to promptly convey samples to any of the 13 labs activated so far.

“This mitigates the need for urgent establishment of a PCR laboratory, as well as the valuable time and personnel needed to prioritise case findings”.