At least 10 Akwa Ibom Govt House Press corps reportedly test positive for COVID-19

NO fewer than ten members of Government House Press Corps, Akwa Ibom state have reportedly tested positive for the dreaded COVID-19 disease that has continued to ravage the world.

It was reliably gathered on Sunday that the positive cases which were among the 19 new active cases recorded in the state are currently receiving treatment at the isolation centre.

According to findings, when one of the cameramen showed symptoms of COVID-19 last week, all the reporters and cameramen as well as other workers at the Government House press center were asked to go for compulsory testing.

A reliable source, simply said, “They are about 38 in the Government House press corps and I learned that about only 9 of them have tested positive for COVID-19. I think others returned negative.

“Also it is not only members of reporters and Cameramen were tested. Everybody at the press centre all did the testing.”

It was learned that apart from the Cameraman that showed symptoms of COVID-19, other people who came out positive did not even have symptoms of COVID-19 before the testing.

And it could be recalled that the state governor Mr Udom Emmanuel had during radio interactive session with the residents last Saturday decried the ‘Asymptomatic’ nature of COVID-19, where someone may be infected of the virus without exhibiting any symptoms.

He had, therefore, advised the residents to take the safety guidelines more seriously to protect themselves from contracting the disease.

However, fear has gripped practising Journalists in the state over the development since yesterday especially as some of them disclosed that they have been invited by the contact tracing team.

One of the correspondents posted on his Facebook wall, “Just received a call from Ibom Multispecialty hospital that I am being contact traced for Covid-19 “.

The Commissioner for Information, Mr. Charles Udoh did not pick calls made to his telephone as at the time of filing this report.