Liberia: Liberia’s Index COVID-19 Patient, Two Others, Released from Isolation

MONROVIA – Mr. Nathaniel Blama who was reported to have been the first confirmed COVID-19 case in Liberia been released to his family after testing negative and spending 14 extra days of observation.

Blama was certificated along with two others as proof that they have recovered fully and are now negative of the novel coronavirus. He is one of seven persons to have recovered from virus in Liberia so far.

During the certification event, Dr. Jerry Brown, a member of the task force on COVID-19, said that though Blama was tested positive for the virus, he was asymptomatic to the virus and was attended to for 14 days as required by health protocols surrounding the virus, noting he was tested twice after being asymptomatic  for seven or more days, before being tested negative twice.

Usually, after a patient is tested negative for the virus, they are released to return to their families and their community, but Blama was again isolated for an addition 14 days.

According to Dr. Brown, though Blama wasn’t sick, they had to be sure that his recovery was satisfactory to the health team, as they were taking all the necessary caution to ensure that he had recovered fully.

“The extra 14 days didn’t mean they were sick, we just wanted to take more caution, to ensure that when they get to their communities they will not infect other people,” he said.

He acknowledged the role of the media and appreciated health workers for their tremendous effort in the fight against the coronavirus in the country.

“We want to say thanks to health workers that are in the facilities, and are still there offering services in the midst of the current crisis, we want to honor you for that,” he said.

Nathenial Blama who was the index case of the coronavirus in Liberia, was tested positive on March 16, 2020, after returning home from an official business trip to Switzerland on March 13.

Liberia’s Chief Medical officer Dr. Francis Kateh who also attended the event appreciated the recipients of the certificate, pointing out their resilience during the first and second phases of isolation.

He said they should consider the period of ailment as one of their testing times that they encountered in life, adding that situations like the one they faced allows a person to understand how resilient they are.

He admonished, the public to seek medical attention when they experience any sign or symptom of the virus, adding  that the virus is not a death warrant and the  public  needs to understand the happenings surrounding the virus because that is one of the ways to fight against  COVID-19.

“This is not a death warrant, the signature to that death warrant lies in your hand. The sooner you sign it, the sooner you are going to go, and if you decide that you are not going to sign this death warrant, and go to where you can recover, that determines your own future,” Kateh noted.

Blama recounting his experience of being the first to have known he’s positive for the coronavirus in Liberia, thanked President George Weah for maintaining stability in the country in the midst of the outbreak of the coronavirus. He noted that with the experience that health workers in the country have, as well as those on the task force of the coronavirus and with the right information in the public Liberia can recover from this outbreak faster than any country.

He said he fears that the public is engulfed with more lies and  misinformation than what the truth is.

“There are lots of lies and conspiracy theories in the public; I can tell anybody I was infected with the disease, how I got it, I don’t know. I’m not a little boy because I know how I felt, and this is not like fresh cold when it hit you, you will know,” Blama said.

He warned that when a person gets symptoms they should get tested as the delay is dangerous.