Amid vaccination and trying to curtail the spread of the COVID-19 virus, 25 youths posted to Gombe state for their National Youth Service Corps program have tested positive for COVID-19. This outbreak has brought questions, are we making progress, or are we just moving around a loop in the clutch of COVID- 19.
According to Dr. Habu Dahruis, the state’s Commissioner of Health, who disclosed this news on Saturday, 1,291 tests were conducted on corps members posted to the state. Twenty-five came back positive, which is quite alarming. He said that most of the victims came from the states where the Delta COVID variant was recorded. We can be grateful the virus caught on early before the victims had done a lot of socializing.
From the results, a mother of a seven-month-old baby and three others with underlying ailments of hypertension and asthma were among the victims. They have all been quarantined at the Isolation Centre of Infectious Diseases Hospital, Kwadon, Yamaltu/Deba LGA of the state. The ongoing screening and rapid testing at the Orientation Camp at Amadan, which began when the camp opened five days ago, was helpful because it was from this that the victims were identified and transferred to the quarantine centers for treatments.
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He also made mention that the Police have been drafted to provide security to the Isolation centers. The victims are taken care of at the isolation center until they test negative for the virus, after which the victims will return them to join their fellow corps members.
The ministry will also provide the victims with psychosocial support because some may remain symptomless and wonder why they are belated. So, there is a need to educate the victims that they are a risk to the general public because they will be infecting others unknowingly.
With the availability of details about their states and local governments, the affected states will be contacted and asked to go to the victim’s homes for contact tracing. This contact trace will help to minimize the risk of spreading the virus to much greater numbers.
