A male Italian who brought coronavirus into Nigeria on February 28, 2020, has been discharged from the Infectious Disease Hospital in Yaba, Lagos.
Now, the positive cases in Nigeria are 12.
Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, commenting on the release of the man from the hospital, on Friday, said the patient donated one unit of white blood (plasma) for treatment of other patients.
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Sanwo-Olu said: “The Italian gentleman who was the index case is now negative and is being discharged. Through a combined effort of Lagos State, Ogun State and Federal Health Authorities, we were able to limit the transmission of the virus to a single contact,” he said in a statement.
“This involved aggressive contact tracing and containment strategies. However we now have several new imported cases and we hope we can apply the same contact tracing strategy along with social distancing to slow down the outbreak which may be brewing from these new cases.
“The index patient consented to donating one unit of white blood ( plasma) before he was discharged today. The blood plasma is rich in antibody proteins that target #COVID19 virus.
“The white blood plasma is frozen in our Bio-bank and will be useful in handling new cases. The blood plasma will be beneficial for the treatment of new patients in the absence of a defined therapeutic drug for #COVID19 yet.
“The index patient appreciated the exceptional care and support given to him by staff of the mainland infectious Disease Hospital, Yaba, all members of the EOC/and the Lagos State government.
“The EOC team was extremely happy to bid the patient farewell. Once again, we like to convey the enthusiasm of our team to do the very best possible in handling incidents of coronavirus.”
