Please no more handshake, keep your hands in
your pocket until we contain the disease”.
The foregoing were the words of Governor
Chibuike Amaechi in Government House, Port
Harcourt four days after the first death was
recorded from Ebola virus in the state.
Though it is not in any law book in the state but
it is now like a taboo to shake hands in
Government House, Port Harcourt. This new
culture that came with the first recorded case of
death from Ebola virus is gradually becoming the
norm in several parts of the state.
The whole of last week, friends, colleagues and
business associates who ordinarily would shake
hands as part of their greetings and exchange of
banters merely waved or cup their right fist in the
air, saying “ I greet you in Jesus name” or “ Ebola
greetings”.
The state government had consistently
maintained that there was no Ebola case in the
state until last week Thursday when the
Commissioner for Health, Dr Sampson Parker
announced with a heavy heart the first casualty of
the dreaded virus. According to him, Doctor Iyke
Sam Enemuo who died from Ebola virus treated a
diplomat, a staff of Economic Community of West
Africa, ECOWAS, who escaped from a quarantine
centre in Lagos to Port Harcourt.
The diplomat was reportedly in the team that
received the index case, late Patrick Sawyer when
he came to the country. Like others who
contracted the virus from Sawyer the diplomat
also did.
Why treat the Diplomat in a hotel?
It was not clear who asked the diplomat to check
into a hotel in Port Harcourt for his treatment.
But the state Commissioner for Health, Dr Parker
confirmed that the diplomat checked into a hotel
in the state capital. And the late Dr. Enemuo was
going there to treat him.
The Diplomat who allegedly fled a quarantine
centre in Lagos chose to remain incommunicado,
switching off his phones while in Port Harcourt.
He reportedly regained his health and headed
back to the quarantine centre in Lagos,
apparently for a certificate of clean health.
But how come the Diplomat received his
treatment in a hotel when Dr Enemuo ran a clinic
on East West road in Rumuokoro area of Obio
Akpor local government area, Rivers state is the
question on many lips. The Diplomat and his late
doctor could certainly answer the question.
Meantime, speculations had it that the late
doctor, Enemuo didnot want his patients in his
hospital to be affected with the virus and that
was why he arranged for the Diplomat to be
treated in a hotel.
Another angle to the story said the diplomat
feared he could be tracked to any hospital so he
offered to hide in a hotel and take his treatment.
A third dimension to the issue said the diplomat
and his deceased doctor feared that if he was
admitted into a hospital, staff of the place could
tip government off on the presence of an Ebola
patient.
Meantime, one week after the Diplomat left, Dr
Enemuo took ill. His wife who is also a doctor
took up the responsibility to manage him. When
the situation seemed like it was getting out of
hand, they reportedly approached the first hospital
that rejected him until the Medical Director, Good
Heart Clinic offered to assist. Dr Enemuo
vomitted blood and was stooling. The Medical
Director of the Good Heart hospital who
suspected that the patient could have contracted
the virus, alerted the state Ministry of Health.
Blood samples were taken but Dr Enemuo died
before the result which confirmed he had Ebola
came out.
Painfully, his wife according to the Commissioner
for Health, Dr. Parker showed symptoms of the
disease and was quarantined. At the time of this
report the Commissioner said about 100 persons
who had primary and secondary contact with the
deceased were on the watch list of the state
government.
Saturday Vanguard gathered that the late Enemuo
and his wife have a three-month old female child.
Corpse of late Enemuo caused panic at UPTH
The remains of the late Dr Enemuo deposited at
the morgue of the University of Port Harcourt
Teaching hospital caused tension as families
hurriedly discharged their relatives from the
hospital. Some workers in the morgue lamented
that they were not told when the Corpse was
brought in, that it was a case of Ebola virus.
A top staff of the hospital who spoke off camera
said there was no need to panic as all measures
had been taken to ensure the corpse did not
create problem for staff.
Residents who offered comments to the Vanguard
said the corpse should have been cremated.
“Since a test had confirmed that it was an Ebola
case, cremation should have been done on it
rather than keep it in the morgue”.”Government
should shut down the morgue”, another staff said.
Hand sanitizer sells for N1000 and above
Hand sanitizer that hitherto sold for N300 has
suddenly gone up to N1000 and above as most
organisations insist as an un written code that
the liquid must be applied on the hand before any
one steps into their officers. Some organisations
even went a step further to acquire easy handle
equipment to test body temperature. A security
man told the Vanguard that temperature above
36 were politely turned back at the company’s
gate.
Long sleeve shirts now in vogue
Fear that the virus is contracted from body fluid
like sweat, spittle, and so on have triggered off a
new sense of fashion in Port Harcourt.You see
more longsleev shirts on streets now.” I wear
longsleev shirts now because it protects my body
from fluid in other people s body.”
Commercial sex workers lament low patronage
Commercial sex workers who hang around night
life areas in the new GRA , Port Harcourt
grumbled about poor patronage since the
outbreak of the disease. “ I am an Aristo, ( a
euphemism for commercial sex workers,) Ebola
has spoilt our runs. Its so bad now that the real
men dont come around anymore. You see small
small boys coming to take advantage of the bad
weather to talk sex with us”, a giel said.
Ebola is politics
Surprisingly youths who spoke to the Vanguard at
some local restaurants code named Long bench
in Port Harcourt said the whole issue of Ebola
was riddled with politics. “How do you convince
me that a state that said there was no Ebola
case a day before suddenly woke up the next day
to say they had 100 persons on its watch list. I
am confused. It is all politics. I am not saying it
is not there but the various governments are
playig politics with it. How do you say people are
on watchlist yet they walk freely on our streets”,
this source queried.
Youths in Emohua protest location of Quarantine
centre
Before the outbreak of Ebola in the state youths
of Emohua local government had protested
against the siting of the Ebola quarantine centre
in Oduoha community in the local government.
They feared that the disease was airborne. It took
effort of the state Commissioner of Health, Dr
Parker to calm them. Some had also said the
local government already housed Disease control
hospital so it would be unfair to site Ebola
quarantine centre in the area.
Meantime, governor Amaechi has assured that the
state was capable to contain spread of the virus,
adding that it would work with the federal
government and other foreign based organisations
to manage the situation.
“I don’t want anybody infected to feel shy and
possibly take it to the rural areas because it could
affect your children, family and relations and may
result to death. That will be too disastrous. When
you have high fever that you can’t account for,
please, don’t go to any Primary health centre,
come to the corridors of government and our
doctors will pick you and give you adequate
treatment. It is not a case all doctors can handle.
Our doctors will take care of your medical
treatment, feed you, so you can survive. You can
see that a lot of patients infected by the Ebola
virus have been successfully discharged in Lagos
State. That is because of the quick response by
those who reported and received adequate
medical care,””There is no need to panic because
the Ebola virus is not air borne.”, he said.
The fear of Ebola has suddenly gripped all
residents of the state. All you hear in Port
Harcourt is” God save us from Ebola
Source; Vanguard
Via @FreshMindWorld
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