A 24-year-old man has been tested positive of the Coronavirus in Pleebo, Sodoken District, Maryland County, by the Maryland County Health Authority.
The Maryland County Health Officer, Dr. Methidous George, told the Hot Pepper that his team recently recorded six suspected cases of COVID-19, and of the six suspected cases five were tested negative after their specimens were sent to Monrovia. “But later, I received a call from my boss that a confirmed case of the pandemic was recorded at the Pleebo Health Center. He informed me that a 24-year-old man of Zone-5, Pleebo City, has been tested positive of the Coronavirus,” he said.
“The patient is undergoing treatment at the Pleebo Health Center; he is a university student, and lives here in the Pleebo,” Dr. George added.
“We have our Contact Tracers in the field with his name, house number and the names of people he associated with.”
According to Dr. George, the 24-year-old man left Thinker Village (Montserrado County) on April 8, 2020 and arrived in Pleebo, Maryland County, on the April 11, 2020.
He noted that the victim spent one week in the community and decided to visit the Pleebo Health Center on April 18—19, 2020, where he exhibited signs and symptoms of the Coronavirus, including weakness, difficulty in breathing (fast breathing) and sweating profusely. He was immediately attended to by the nurses at the health facility.
“Because of his travel history, he was placed in isolation, and a team of qualified laboratory technicians came to the health center, took his specimen and sent it to Monrovia. The result came back on April 24, 2020 positive of COVID-19. This means we have a Confirmed Coronavirus case in Maryland County,” Dr. George explained.
“We are still interviewing him. Psychologically he is deranged, and we have called our psychosocial team which is still gathering information. It will take a couple of days for us to know about him and those he associated himself with,” the Maryland County Health Officer noted.
Dr. George disclosed that the County Health Team has obtained the names of those who escorted him to the Pleebo Health Center, and will have them quarantined and their specimens will be taken to the National Public Health Institute of Liberia (NPHIL) and the Ministry of Health for testing purposes, to ascertain whether or not they are Coronavirus-free.
