28th April, 2020
Okafor Ofiebor/Port Harcourt
Controversies are trailing the third confirmed coronavirus infected person who is a 61-year-old manager of Mingi hotel and his late boss and owner of the hotel, Chief Kelvin Alagoa in Port Harcourt.
The Mingi Hotels Manager was said to have contracted coronavirus from the proprietor of the hotel, Late Chief Kelvin Alagoa, whom he attended to at the time he(Alagoa)took ill.
Since the revelation, there have been speculations in the state capital that some of the hotel staff may have been infected also by their late boss, Chief Kelvin Alagoa.
The first controversy was that the late Alagoa was said to have sought medical help from Pamo Clinics and Hospital Limited, at No. 300 Aba-Port Harcourt Expressway owned by the former Governor, Dr. Peter Odili.
However, in a swift reaction, the management of the hospital denied ever treating the late Alagoa and that he was never a patient of the hospital.
According to a press statement by the management of the said hospital, “Chief Alagoa presented in our facility for the first time at about 8.00 pm on 27 the March 2020 and for COVID-19 test which alerted the staff on duty for full implementation of precautionary measures.
That Chief Alagoa was told we do not conduct such test and was immediately referred to University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital,(UPTH). The phone numbers of NCDC and the Rivers Covid-19 Response Team were given to him to contact.”
However, the family of Alagoa are alleging foul play in the death of Alagoa. They claim that he may have been murdered.
The elder sister of the late Alagoa, Mrs Jennifer Alagoa-Amaehule said the man died on April 5 and deposited in mortuary April 7 stating that the hotel staff are not speaking the truth of what happened to the proprietor of Mingi hotel because the statements made by some of the staff to the police are conflicting and contradictory. They are insisting on autopsy conducted on the body to ascertain the cause of the death. And until that done, the family will not accept that he died of coronavirus.
Pamo Hospital clarified that after referring him to UPTH, it was said that the next day when the hospital contacted him and he said he had contacted NCDC and Rivers Covid-19 Response Team who merely asked to isolate himself.
Pamo Clinics and Hospitals said it had put out the information to correct the misinformation of the public domain.
PM News correspondent learnt that there have been speculations making the rounds that due to the death of the owner of the Mingi Hotel and the positive result of the test conducted on the manager, that entire Rumuomasi-Elekahia axis in Port Harcourt is a very high-risk area.
There are claims that the test conducted on the staff of the hotel showed that five of them are already symptomatic and there is the fear of community spread.
The manager who is now positive allegedly visited a side laboratory, “Mercyland Clinic” and also has a nurse who visited his house to provide health services
Meanwhile, the Commissioner for State Ministry of Health, Prof. Princewill Chike, has dismissed reports that Rumuomasi and Elekahia Communities in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area is infected by coronavirus due to the confirmed case of a 61-year-old hotel manager in the area.
Professor Princewill Chike made this known to journalists during a fumigation exercise at bus-stops carried out by a private firm, Bob Truck, as part of its contribution to curtail the spread of coronavirus in Port Harcourt.
Professor Chike said samples have been taken from the corpse of the hotel owner for test.
He maintained that despite a confirmed case in the area, it does not mean that the community is infected.
He warned against rumours that were not verified that can scare people of the state.
Professor Chike added that people are been evasive in volunteering for testing, noting that the ministry has embarked on targeted and facility search, not waiting for people to call and inform of a suspected case.
On his path, the Managing Director and CEO of Bob Truck, Ibifri Bobmanuel said the company as part of it Cooperate Social Responsibility to the state decided to disinfect the bus-stops because it is the first point of contact for all persons coming into the state.
He added that the firm disinfected 60 bus-stops in Obio/Akpor and Port Harcourt city Local Government area and promised to move to the public markets.