Cross River govt urges residents to come for testing 

The Cross River State Government has called on residents of the state to come for COVID-19 tests, as it began free sample collection and testing in Calabar.

The call was made in a statement by the Commissioner for Health and Chairman of the state COVID-19 Response Task Force, Dr Betta Edu on Sunday, adding that the exercise was to strengthen the state’s response to the spread of the virus.

She said: “The Cross River State COVID-19 Response and Task Force is calling on citizens having symptoms related to coronavirus to avail themselves for testing at Lawrence Henshaw Memorial Infectious Disease Hospital, Calabar Road by Edgerley.

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“It is important to get yourself tested if you have signs or symptoms suggestive of COVID-19 or you have made contact with persons who have tested positive.”

Cross River remains the only state in the country that no case has officially been recorded by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), though there are fears that the disease may be present in the state but not officially reported.

It would be recalled that the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH) had confirmed that five of its patients tested positive to the virus. They are however yet to be added to the NCDC daily updates.

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