Cross River Threatens to Quarantine NCDC Officials

The Cross River Government has threatened to quarantine any official of the National Centre for Disease Control, (NCDC) that sets his or her feet into the state for 14 days.

The state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Betta Edu, while issuing the threat wednesday on behalf of the state government alleged that pressure was being mounted on some people in the state to accept that they tested positive for COVID-19.

However, she did not mention who was mounting the pressure.

Giving an update on measures taken by the state to curb the spread of the virus, she said the decision to quarantine any NCDC official was borne out of the belief that everyone is a suspected case.

The commissioner said the state cannot be pressurised into accepting that it has any positive case.

She said rather than being castigated for being among the three states with no case of the virus, the state should be commended for taking proactive steps that have made the state free of the pandemic.

“It is not compulsory or a must that Cross River State must record a COVID-19 case; the pressure for us to have a case is really getting out of hands.

“We only received 50 sample collection kits from the federal government to use for a population of about 4.5million people yet we have been able to use the highest index in testing all suspected case.

“People have come forward with text messages they received asking them to claim that they are COVID-19 positive and they will be paid for that.

“Every state in Nigeria must not have it. Cross River is peculiar; we started campaign and regular sensitisation early even before any case was recorded in Africa and Nigeria .We sensitised our people about Lassa fever and COVID-19 as early as January,” Edu said.

“Lesotho is in Southern Africa surrounded by countries with cases yet they have not recorded any one case ; Czech is in Europe yet their story is different ; why is Cross River being criticised and castigated?”.