Bayelsa Taskforce on COVID -19 has said that the state’s index case and two others have tested negative and would be discharged.
It also said that an Abuja resident, who recently came to the state, tested positive to the virus.
Dr Inodu Nathaniel, co-Chairman of the State Taskforce on COVID-19, made the disclosure on Monday in Yenogoa.
He said that over the last one week, 16 samples for COVID-19 tests were sent to the Irrua Specialist Hospital Reference Laboratory in Edo, from Bayelsa.
“Of these samples, 11 were for fresh suspected cases of COVID-19, while five were samples for repeat testing from the confirmed cases at the Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital (NDUTH) Isolation Centre.
“As earlier stated, repeat tests of samples were conducted for the index case. The four confirmed cases linked to her are all still on admission at the (NDUTH) isolation centre.
“Two of these returned positive while three (including the index case), returned negative.
“So, the index case and the two others with negative results will be discharged later today (Monday), while the cases with positive results will remain at the Isolation centre for further treatment and observation,” he said.
Nathaniel, who is the Permanent Secretary of the State Ministry of Health, said that three of the results returned positive for COVID-19, 10 returned negative while three are pending.
The co-chairman, however, said that all listed contacts of the index case, including contacts of the other confirmed cases, had been discharged from self-quarantine after completing the mandatory 14 days.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the new case is a retiree in his early sixties. He is from Bayelsa and resides in Abuja, but returned to Yenagoa in March 2020.
