Border police officers manning the major entry point into Akwa Ibom State at the Abia/Akwa Ibom common boundary at Obot Akara Local Government Area have intercepted the remains of a suspected coronavirus patient said to have been smuggled into the state from Lagos.
Commissioner for Health, Dr. Dominic Ukpong, who disclosed this while briefing members of the Incidence Management Committee (IMC) of COVID-19 in the state, said the body was immediately buried and the six bearers of the corpse were isolated for observation.
Ukpong, who expressed surprise about how the corpse bearers were able to beat all security checks through about seven states before reaching Akwa Ibom, commended the vigilant security agents at the border for rising to the challenge of forestalling the migration of the body into Akwa Ibom.
“The corpse was buried in accordance with the protocol for burial of an infected person, while the persons who transported the corpse have been quarantined pending the outcome of their tests,” the commissioner said.
Ukpong, who doubles as chairman of the state IMC of the pandemic, said the corpse was transported in an ambulance on the night of Wednesday, adding that it was hurriedly buried at Mkpat Enin Local Government Area.
He charged members of the public to remain steadfast and vigilant as government continues to step up the fight against the pandemic in the state.
