At last, the Italian who brought coronavirus to Nigeria has been certified as having fully recovered and hence discharged.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu announced the discharge of the Italian in a series of tweets Friday night.
Indication that he was going to be discharged soon was made on Thursday when he was said to be awaiting the last test, having tested negative for the virus.
The Italian who arrived Nigeria from Milan on February 24, 2020, tested positive for the disease on February 28 and was admitted.
39 persons said to have contact with him were quarantined.
One tested positive and soon recovered.
The tweets by Governor Sanwo-Olu over his eventual discharge from the hospital reads:
“As the COVID-19 Incident Commander for Lagos State, I am glad to inform you that the index case, the Italian gentleman is now negative.
“Through a combined effort of Lagos State, Ogun State and Federal Health Authorities, we were able to limit the transmission of the virus to a single contact.
“This involved aggressive contact tracing and containment strategies. However, we now have several new imported cases and we hope we can apply the same contact tracing strategy along with social distancing to slow down the outbreak which may be brewing from these new cases.
“The index patient consented to donate one unit of white blood (otherwise called plasma) before he was discharged today (Friday). The blood plasma is rich in anti-body proteins that target the COVID-19 virus.
“The white blood plasma is frozen in our bio-bank and will be useful in handling new cases.
“The blood plasma will be beneficial for the treatment of new patients in the absence of a defined therapeutic drug for COVID-19 yet.
“The index patient appreciated the exceptional care and support given to him by the staff of the mainland Infectious Disease Hospital, Yaba, all members of the EOC and Lagos State Government.
“The EOC team was extremely happy to bid the patient farewell.
“Once again, we like to convey the enthusiasm of our team to do the very best possible in handling incidents of Coronavirus.”
