A private hospital in Jo’s, Rayfield Medical Services Limited, has been shut down after 17 of its staff tested positive for COVID-19.
Plateau State Commissioner of Health, Dr. Nimkong Nadam Lar, told journalists yesterday in Jos that two persons with suspected case of COVID-19 were admitted in the hospital for different ailments but they were later discovered to be COVID-19 patients.
He said: “Of the two patients, one died. The hospital has been closed down for safety of the public health. As of today, 198 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in Plateau State, but 113 of them have been treated and discharged. The state has so far recorded five deaths, while 29 health workers have been infected by the virus.”
But the hospital in a statement said a COVID-19 patient who absconded from one of the state hospitals was admitted for an unrelated illness, and that the patient had denied any history of contact with a COVID-19 patient as well as any history of symptoms suggestive of COVID-19.
A statement by the hospital said: “The patient was managed for two days in our facility before we discovered the true state of affairs from the state Ministry of Health. The patient was immediately evacuated by the Ministry of Health officials to the isolation facility and the hospital fumigated.
“A screening of primary and secondary contacts revealed that a number of our staff were also positive for the virus. They are also being attended to by the state Ministry of Health officials.
“In line with the state protocols, the hospital services have been suspended for two weeks and the entire facility closed for fumigation. We hope to resume normal services to the general public immediately after the expiration of the mandatory two weeks.”