-Blank NEWS Online (NIGERIA) –From Mike SOGBOLA, Maiduguri:

The two COVID-19 positive persons that were reported to have been on the run in Maiduguri, on Monday resurfaced.

One of the two, Abbas Hassan, a 24 year-old male, who tested positive was found after he was traced to a resident in Maiduguri at about 2am, the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Salisu Kwaya-Bura revealed.

The Commissioner said a combined team of health surveillance and investigation team, backed by a police escort traced the patient who was in a critical state to his family house in Gwange II.

He said he was immediately moved on stretcher and is now on ventilator at an isolation centre.

He said health workers are doing everything humanly possible to revive the patient while a contact tracing and surveillance team has been deployed to identify persons who may have had direct and indirect contacts with him for risk assessment, isolation advice and collection of samples for tests.

The second, Hauwa Mohammed, 42 year-old female, who was declared at large after testing positive to COVID-19 is said to have reported herself to the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH)

An apology was given by officials of UMTH laboratory and the Borno Commissioner of Health for declared are to be at large.

The apology was given after Hauwa protested that she did not receive communication from the COVID-19 lab at UMTH or from officials of the state response team.

She disclosed that she had been on self isolation since her sample was taken for test due to exposure of a confirmed case days back.

Borno’s commissioner of health and secretary of the state’s high powered response team told journalists that Hauwa brought herself in a very responsible and medically professional manner which was highly commendable.

She said even though Hauwa was on self isolation since her sample was taken, a surveillance and investigation team has been deployed to assess risks of infection in line with the protocol of dealing with epidemics and pandemics.

With Hauwa’s return, all COVID-19 patients in Borno state are now fully accounted for.

It would be recalled that at about 2am today, 24-year old male was traced and moved to hospital isolation, hours after he was at large.