Lagos Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, announced on Friday that the three suspected coronavirus patients quarantined in Lagos have tested negative to the deadly disease.
The commissioner, it would be recalled, had on Thursday said three people had been quarantined at the state government isolation centre in Yaba area of Lagos on suspicion of the deadly virus.
One of the suspects quarantined was a Nigerian who travelled to France eight days ago and arrived the country four days ago, but had developed headache and respiratory symptom which led to him being quarantined.
Two other travellers from England and China were also quarantined for coronavirus after they developed certain symptoms.
Abayomi said samples of the affected individuals were collected for tests to ascertain if they had been affected by the virus.
The commissioner, however, tweeted on Friday evening, saying that the three suspects had tested negative to the deadly disease, adding that affected people had been discharged after they were certified free from Coronavirus.
“Breaking! #COVID19Lagos All the three #COVID19 suspected cases; travellers from France, England and China whose samples were collected yesterday for analysis have tested negative and they have been discharged,” the commissioner wrote on his twitter handle.
Abayomi had said on Thursday that the index case, an Italian was seriously responding to treatment at the isolation centre, as his clinical situation was stable.
The commissioner stated that the Italian was in high spirit, but that he required psycho-social support as he was getting depressed for being in isolation alone, adding that the patient was in touch with his family and friends in Italy.
Abayomi, however, said the level of viral load in his body had gone down and that if that continued, in the next few days, he might be discharged if he tested negative to the disease.
He said government would not just release him immediately he tested negative to the disease, but would still keep him and run a second test in few days to ascertain he was completely free of the disease before letting him go back to his country.
Speaking on the travellers who alighted from the Turkish Airline on arrival in Lagos, Abayomi said government had been able to trace 13 of the remaining 15 contacts, leaving only two that had not been reached.
He said that would release their names to the media declaring them if at the end of today, they could not be reached.