Our COVID-19 story, by Ebonyi EXCO members

Ogochukwu Anioke, Abakaliki

TWO Ebonyi State Executive Council (EXCO) members, who recovered from COVID-19, have narrated their experiences during the period of isolation.

Principal Secretary to Governor Mr. Clement Nweke and Commissioner for Finance Ogbonnaya Chukwu described their period in isolation as horrible and difficult.

They told reporters on Monday, after their discharge in Abakaliki, the state capital, that at a point, they needed ventilators to breathe properly.

In their separate narrations, said they first thought they were suffering from malaria, but when the treatment they were getting did not bring about any improvements, they had to go for COVID-19 tests, which came out positive.

Nweke said it was still a mystery how he contacted the virus.

He said: “I feel very great that I am now negative. The experience was horrible. I had malaria with pneumonia complications. But at a point, I noticed that I wasn’t getting better and it was becoming difficult to breath. So, I called Dr. Akuma DanielUmezuruike (Commissioner for Health) to come and test me.

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“He came and took my samples and the next evening, he came to my house and told me that this is not a death sentence. I said there is no problem; let’s go to the isolation centre. So, I went through a full scale blow up of the virus because I was on oxygen for some days as I had difficulty breathing.”

He noted that the virus is real and not a scam as some people have claimed.

For Ogbonnaya Chukwu, how he got infected was still a mystery to him, because of his strict adherence to the safety protocols for prevention of the virus.

The commissioner, while noting that COVID-19 is not a death sentence, said the earlier it is detected, the better.

He confirmed that his wife and son also tested positive, but are doing well in the hospital.

The two EXCO members thanked Governor David Umahi, the Commissioner for Health and the medical personnel who treated them.

Umezurike thanked God for the survival of the two government officials.

He urged the public to continue to obey NCDC safety protocols.

The Southeast has seen a spike in cases recently with Ebonyi having the highest number of 103, according to the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).