Ekiti State Government has explained that its first Coronavirus index case, a 38-year-old man of Ekiti origin, drove an American who arrived in the country on March 3.
It said the driver and the American stayed in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital before moving to Ado Ekiti on March 13.
The state government task force on COVID-19 headed by Governor Kayode Fayemi made these revelations on Wednesday in a statement signed by the state’s Commissioner for Health and Human Services, Dr. Mojisola Yaya Kolade.
It explained that the confirmed case was suspected to have been infected “while driving an American Caucasian, male, 27, who was visiting Nigeria from Richmond, Virginia, USA.
“The American Caucasian arrived in Nigeria on March 3 through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.
“Preliminary investigations revealed that the pair were driven by our confirmed case to Ibadan, where they stayed for two weeks, and arrived Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State on March 13.
“A day after their arrival, the American male fell ill and he was taken to a private hospital where he was referred to a tertiary hospital.
“Unfortunately, he died from complications of his illness.
“The Ekiti State Task Force on COVID-19 has already quarantined the confirmed case on admission in the State Isolation Centre.
“We have commenced the process of contact tracing, working with the Federal Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization following the team’s itinerary since they landed in Nigeria on the 3rd of March 2020.
“We have also contacted the Oyo State Government since it was recorded that they stayed in Ibadan for two weeks before arriving at Ekiti State.”
