Tears and panic in Akwa Ibom as Nigeria loses another medical doctor who showed signs of COVID-19

– Dominic Essien, a medical doctor, has died of what is suspected to be coronavirus

– The physiotherapist died shortly after showing symptoms of the deadly disease

– His death was confirmed by Nsikak Nyoyoko, the chairman of the Akwa Ibom state chapter of the Nigerian Medical Association.

A medical doctor identified as Dominic Essien has died in Akwa Ibom state after showing symptoms of the deadly coronavirus. He was a physiotherapist, who owned a private clinic in Uyo and was also a lecturer in the Department of Physiology, University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom state. The incident was confirmed by the chairman of the Akwa Ibom state chapter of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Nsikak Nyoyoko. In a statement on Thursday, April 16, Nyoyoko said Essien showed symptoms of coronavirus, after which he was rushed to the Ibom Specialist Hospital in Uyo, where he died. The statement read: “I was called last night by a colleague who intimated me that one of our colleagues was sick with a week history of fever, cough and shortness of breath which worsened yesterday with his SPO2 as low as 72%, requiring him to be placed on oxygen at his clinic. “I immediately called upon a member of the State #COVID19 Response Team to swing into action and somehow, later last night, our colleague was admitted into ISH and managed by specialists in respiratory medicine. “With the symptoms elucidated above, a suspicion of COVID-19 was entertained and he had his sample taken today awaiting transportation to the laboratory for COVID-19 testing. “Unfortunately, this revered colleague of ours died mid-afternoon.” Meanwhile, it had previously been reported that the Lagos chapter of the Nigerian Medical Association announced the death of Chugbo Emeka, a medical doctor. The announcement was made via a post on the association’s Twitter handle on Wednesday evening, April 15. The doctor who was reportedly a private medical practitioner was said to have died after being exposed to a COVID-19 patient. He reportedly died at the isolation ward of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH). The tweet reads: “NMA LAGOS regrets to announce the death of Dr Chugbo Emeka at the LUTH isolation ward. He died on 15/04/2020. He was a Private Medical Practitioner who was exposed to a confirmed case of COVID-19. “We condole with his family and the medical community for this painful loss.”