The Federal Government on Wednesday parried a question on the whereabouts and the health status of the Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari, Abba Kyari, who tested positive for coronavirus.
Kyari
had, in a letter he wrote to the public on Sunday, confirmed that he tested
positive for coronavirus last week and would be in Lagos on Monday for further
tests based on medical advice.
The Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, had on Tuesday said contrary to reports that Kyari was at the Mainland Infectious Disease Hospital (IDH) isolation centre in Lagos, he did not know his whereabouts in the state.
The Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, yesterday in Abuja at the third joint national briefing of the Presidential Taskforce Force on COVID-19, was, however, silent when asked about Kyari.
“There were few cases of reports or some VIPs
who trivialised what the authorities were doing and we got reports that some
VIPs refused to have their temperature taken or to fill the forms. We inform
the appropriate authorities. At that time and that was even before we saw the
first case as we were very quick in beginning screening passengers entering the
country.
“And the necessary order was given from above for the various
VIPs to comply and from then till now the compliance from VIPs is not a factor
now.
“I want to repeat that every person has the right to privacy. Each of you have the right to tell anybody whether that you were screened and that whether you are positive or negative.
“And that right is also granted to those who are in public office the ones we call VIPs. They also have the right to privacy, Some VIPs have chosen to disclose by themselves, somehow authorized that their own result can be announced and I announced mine and the SGF gave me permission to announce his. So is the Vice President.
“For those who didn’t give us the permission, we don’t announce their results and we don’t tell you who is positive or negative and we don’t go into the fact of whether they are in treatment or not because it is not part of what the public needs to know.
“But let me tell you that all those who are screened and tested positive, all of them, VIP or non are all in good care and custody and being properly taken care of,” Ehanire said.
Kyari in the letter claimed that he has made his personal care arrangements to avoid further burdening the public health system, which faces so many pressures.
“I have made my own care arrangements to avoid further burdening the public health system, which faces so many pressures. Like many others that will test also positive, I have not experienced high fever or other symptoms associated with this new virus and have been working from home.
I hope
to be back at my desk very soon. I have a team of young, professional,
knowledgeable and patriotic colleagues, whose dedication has been beyond the
call of duty, who continue to work seven days a week, with no time of the day
spared. We will continue to serve the President and people of Nigeria, as we
have for the past five years,” he noted in the letter.
