Palpable fears at the weekend gripped indigenes of Ebonyi as the state recorded its index case of Coronavirus.
The governor of Ebonyi State, David Umahi announced the development on Sunday in a broadcast at the government house lodge, in Abakaliki.
According to him, the index case is a 31-year-old man from Ukawu in Onicha Local government areas of the state, who runs a business with his higher purchased Sienna vehicle and carries food items to Ore in Ondo state.
“He uses the vehicle to carry passengers back to the Southeast after selling his food items. He has made two turns this year, one on 29th of March and returned to Ebonyi on 1st of April 2020. And the second turn was on April 12th.
The governor further revealed that the patient returned from one of his business trips to Ore on 24th of April alongside three Ebonyi citizens.
“He called the parents and they agreed that he should bring them back and they would pay him when they got back. So he took the three of them and started coming back. That was on the 15th of April”.
The governor said they passed through many states sleeping in motor parks and filling stations on the way and only got to Ebonyi on April 20.
He said they passed through Ivo local government and made their way to Okposi in Ohaozara where they were intercepted by the state’s COVID-19 task force and brought to Abakaliki in line with government policy.
Mr Umahi said that at the Pa Ngele Oruta Township Stadium holding area where they were kept for some days, a test was conducted on them and the driver tested positive on Saturday while the three passengers were negative.
He, however, directed a second test on the passengers which came out the same way on Sunday.
The governor said that contact tracing of over 300 persons he might have come in minimal contact with had commenced.
Mr Umahi assured the people not to panic as the state government had made adequate preparations for such occasion.
He said the index case has been moved to the state’s isolation centre where he is being treated.
“He is very strong and is not showing any symptoms at the moment”, the governor added.