The Italian who was diagnosed with the coronavirus and had been on treatment for some time has been declared negative of the virus and he is to be discharged from the isolation facility on Saturday.
Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, announced this on Friday night, saying the patient consented to donate one unit of white blood (plasma) before he was discharged. The blood plasma is rich in antibody proteins that target the #COVID19 virus.
According to Sanwo-Olu: “As the COVID-19 Incident Commander for Lagos, I am glad to inform you that the index case; the Italian gentleman is now negative.
Through a combined effort of Lagos, Ogun State, and Federal Health Authorities, we were able to limit the transmission of the virus to a single contact.
“This involved aggressive contact tracing and containment strategies. However, we now have several new imported cases and we hope we can apply the same contact tracing strategy along with social distancing to slow down the outbreak which may be brewing from these new cases.
“The index patient consented to donate one unit of white blood (plasma) before he was discharged today. The blood plasma is rich in antibody proteins that target the #coronavirus. The white blood plasma is frozen in our Bio-bank and will be useful in handling new cases.
“The blood plasma will be beneficial for the treatment of new patients in the absence of a defined therapeutic drug for #coronavirus yet. The patient appreciated the exceptional care and support given to him by the staff of the Infectious Disease Hospital, Yaba and all members of the EOC.
