The Enugu suspected Coronavirus patient quarantined in the state isolation centre has reportedly died.
It was reliably gathered, yesterday morning that the woman died on Sunday even before the state Ministry of Health came out to declare that the woman was negative to the novel virus.
Family sources told our source that the septuagenarian was taken to the Colliery Hospital where the state had dedicated for the treatment of infectious diseases, and allegedly abandoned the woman without any medical treatment.
In a letter, the daughter wrote to Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, decried the manner her mother was treated, which she alleged, caused her death.
The letter, which was obtained by our source, yesterday, reads: “My dear Governor, Ifeanyichukwu Lawrence Ugwuanyi.
“I am writing on behalf of myself and family in regards to the 70-year-old woman suspected of the COVID-19 in Enugu published on Saturday, March 14, 2020. The patient who is my mother, unfortunately, passed away on Sunday, March 15, 2020, having tested negative to the aforementioned virus. She returned to Nigeria on Wednesday, March 11, 2020 after five months trip to the UK to visit her children.
“Whilst the health workers/officials at ESUTH Colliery Parklane had to take the necessary precautions to protect themselves against this virus, the manner and state at which they treated my mother was inhumane.
“My mother was isolated in a dilapidated environment that seems to have been left uninhabitable over a long period of time. The isolation centre in Enugu is an abandoned old section of the hospital, where the grass and debris were being cleared whilst my mother was there. The staffs at the hospital were unprofessional in the way they handled my mother. She was stigmatized and this made her feel worthless.
“My mother arrived at the hospital on Friday, March 13, 2020, blood samples were collected on Saturday, March 14, 2020, with results expected on Monday, March 16, 2020.
“As declared by the World Health Organisation (WHO) that this is a global pandemic, one would expect a faster testing time. My mother had to spend three days in a dire situation, without adequate health care and unsure of what is happening around her. If the result for COVID-19 was ascertained on time, my mother would still be here with us, as she would have been moved to a better-equipped hospital with the right experts to deal with her underlying illnesses.