The Anambra State alleged COVID-19 Index case victim, Chief Marcel Eze, yesterday described all the stories being peddled about him testing positive to Coronavirus as all false and fabrications to tarnish his image.
Speaking with Vanguard yesterday in a telephone interview, Chief Eze, who said he deals on Pharmaceuticals, challenged the Anambra State government, particularly the state Commissioner for Health to show him and the world the alleged lab test result that confirmed him positive.
The angry Chief Eze said that he has been abandoned without any care, food or any medical attention since Friday he was taken to General Hospital Onitsha after a call from the State Commissioner for Health.
Chief Eze also called on Governor Willie Obiano to thoroughly investigate the circumstances surrounding his alleged current travail in General Hospital Onitsha, just as he challenged the governor to visit the hospital to hear his story, claiming that the state is being deceived over the claim that he tested positive to Coronavirus.
Chief Ezeh also said that he has not visited Lagos State since January, contrary to the claim in some quarters that he visited Lagos where he allegedly contacted the virus, saying that “the last time I visited Lagos State was in December and I have been in Anambra State since January.”
According to Eze, “I was admitted for a heart problem at Prof. Nwilo Heart Foundation, St Joseph Hospital Adazi Nnukwu, and was discharged after being confirmed okay by the doctors.
“While I was in the hospital, three people came and introduced themselves that they are from government and are conducting test on Coronavirus that they will take my sample like others in the hospital, and I said no problem.
They brought something like cotton bud but very long with both ends having cottons, and inserted it into my mouth and nose and later collected it and left. That was before I was discharged from St Joseph Hospital Adazi Nnukwu.
“For three days before I left the hospital, I did not see them again. I was discharged on Tuesday and I went to one of my doctor friends in Awka who advised me to take bed rest in his hospital to avoid disturbance because of the type of person I am and I agreed.
“While I was there, on Wednesday by 11pm, a call came into my phone and on picking the call, a man identified himself as the Commissioner for Health in Anambra State, and he told me they have been looking for me and I asked him for what, and he did not say any reasonable thing to me and because it was late, I told him to come to the hospital the next day.
“On Thursday, the Commissioner came with some of his officials to the hospital and told me that the test conducted on me was positive for Coronavirus and I told him that St Joseph Hospital from where I was discharged on Tuesday did not take any sample from me. They brought a stretcher and asked me to enter. That was the way I found myself in General Hospital Onitsha where they currently dumped me without food, water or any medical care since Friday they brought me from Awka to Onitsha, on this their fraudulent claim of me testing positive to Coronavirus.
Anambra govt reacts
Reacting yesterday to the allegation of the coronavirus index case, Anambra State government said the man does not possess a good frame of mind to discuss his condition.
The commissioner for information and public enlightenment, Mr. Don Adinuba told Vanguard that the man’s problem was that his people were tormenting him psychologically and emotionally in the social media, advising him to stop granting media interviews that would not help him in any way.
Adinuba said: “I wonder why he is saying that he was dumped. I will advise him to stop granting interviews since he doesn’t have the state of mind to speak on this matter.
” I know that he is dispirited. We understand his situation because for someone to be isolated in a very large compound with only two family members, that person will not feel good.
“What he needs is peace of mind especially when his people are tormenting him psychologically and emotionally.”
According to the commissioner, the index case is not in a position to know if he is positive for coronavirus or not. He added that it was NCDC that brought the result of his test.
“We heard the result just like other people and it is wrong for him to be blaming anybody in the state for his situation,” the commissioner said.
Index case poorly handled — Obi
Reacting to the development, the Vice-Presidential candidate of the PDP in the last presidential election, Mr. Peter Obi frowned at the manner Anambrarians handled the index case of COVID-19 in Anambra State, even when he singled out St. Joseph Hospital, Adazi-Nnukwu for commendation for their professionalism.
In a statement made available by Obi’s Media Office, he thanked St. Joseph Hospital for being pro-active, going by the measures they took in handling the case, but described the stigmatisation of the index case by the people through videos and publications in various media platforms and the accompanying psychological trauma, as against the basic principle of collective fight against the pandemic.
Expressing confidence in St Joseph Hospital, Obi said it remained one of the best health facilities in this part of the country and that its Dr. Joseph Nwilo Heart Centre remained the best of its kind in Nigeria, manned by the globally-acclaimed cardiologist, Dr. Joe Nwilo, one of the most patriotic Nigerians who, though based in the USA, comes in from time to time at his own cost to perform free heart operations.”
Which are you to believe? It’s obviously left at your own discretion to chose whom to believe…. Either Chief Marcel EZE or NCDC or Anambra state government.
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