The Rivers State Government at the weekend said that a man suspected to have contracted the Coronavirus tested negative.

The man, 43, was said to have recently returned from Houston, USA but surrendered himself for medical examination for COVID-19 at a private hospital in the Rivers State capital.

He was reportedly referred to the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH).

The State Emergency Response Team was said to have come to the rescue when UPTH informed the government about the suspected case.

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The state Commissioner for Health, Prof. Chike Princewill, said that after testing the samples taken from the man, he tested negative.

Princewill appealed to members of the public to disregard rumour making the rounds about the matter.

He said: “Let me begin by reiterating that as at today (Saturday), Rivers State has not recorded any positive case of COVID-19. However, on the 10th of March, the Rivers State Public Health Emergency Operations Centre was notified of a suspected case of COVID-19.

“43-year-old male Nigerian, who had returned from the United States of America on the 22nd of February, 2020, through the Lagos International Airport, visited Port Harcourt for official duties.

“He had earlier exhibited mild respiratory symptoms and was placed on treatment for malaria and respiratory tract infection. The Rapid Response Team was quick to react, investigate and self-isolate the patient, while nasal, oropharyngeal and sputum samples were collected for analysis and dispatched to the reference laboratory in LUTH.

“As I promised to inform you, the result from the test is available and is negative. Therefore, the public should disregard every misinformation making the rounds on social media with names of individuals and facilities as untrue and totally misrepresented.

“There are ethical principles, human rights concerns and standard protocols that guide outbreak declarations and decisions. We will abide by them in keeping the state safe, healthwise. The public is further enjoined to seek correct information only from official sources”.