Four Corps Members, NYSC Staff Test COVID-19 Positive In Benue

Four corps members and a staff of the Na­tional Youth Service Corps (NYSC) at the orientation camp at Wannune, headquarters of Tarka Local Government Area (LGA) of Benue State have tested posi­tive to COVID-19.

The corps members and the staff (names withheld) had test­ed positive to the virus, follow­ing a rapid test that was carried out on them at the camp.

While the NYSC staff that tested positive to the virus is a male, the corps members are two males and two females each and are from different parts of the country.

The quartet who were brought to the Isolation Cen­ter (COVID-19 treatment center) of the Benue State University Teaching Hos­pital (BSUTH), Makurdi on Monday are however going through hard times.

On Thursday, the patients as well as another ‘severe case’ from Ogbadibo were left with­out food and medications for the whole day.

Even the nurses at the Nurs­ing center who were to take care of the patients suffered the same fate because the EOC staff that were to effect the feed­ing did not show up.

Due to the hunger that hit the nurses, they also aban­doned the patients and left the facility, insisting that they can­not work on an empty stomach.

Our sources also told us that the Public Health office of the Ministry of Health, which di­rectly receive instructions from the state’s Commissioner for Health, Dr. Joseph Ngbea did not make available to the EOC staff food for the feeding of patients.

Press Informant gathered that even though the matter was reported to Dr. Joseph Igbudu, Chairman, Medical Advisory Committee (CMAC), no steps were taken to remedy the situ­ation.

Also we gathered that the Isolation Center has been short of water for over three days.

The source told us that the maintenance unit had billed the work to be done on the tank that would restore water supply to the facility at N91,000, adding that, he was not certain when work aimed at restoring water at the facility would com­mence.

When Saturday Press Informant visited BSUTH, none of the staff at the COVID-19 Emergency Operational Center (EOC) was at hand to respond to our queries.

However, we sighted some of the corps members sitting on the veranda of the emer­gency center.

Calls put through to the Commissioner for Health, Dr Ngbea were not returned.

Also, efforts to get the NYSC in the state to comment on the matter failed.

However, as at the time of compiling this report, the sit­uation at the treatment center had remained unchanged.