During the daily briefing of Boss Mustapha led Presidential Task Force on Covid-19 on Friday, a reporter with pioneer Nigeria’s private television station, the African Independent Television, AIT had complained about the stigma workers of the broadcasting outfit are being subjected to after it was announced that the chairman of the parent company of the outfit, DAAR Communications, Raymond Dokpesi Jnr tested positive for coronavirus last Monday.
In response to the complaint, members of the Task Force again reiterated their appeal to Nigerians to shun all forms of discrimination against persons infected with the virus as anyone can be infected.
It was doubtful if the reporter realized that the situation will even get worse for the family of the founder of DAAR Communications before the end of the day.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC had after Covid-19 test of Raymond returned positive result, decided to trace all his contacts and administered similar tests on them.
Raymond had decided to go for the test following persistent bouts of cough, accompanied by malaria like symptoms.
It was also gathered that similar tests were administered on top officials of Daar Communications, the parent company of AIT and Raypower television and other immediate contacts of Raymond following the positive test.
The results of those tests came in on Friday, showing that the founder of DAAR Communications Plc, High Chief Raymond Dokpesi, his daughter-in law and six members of his family also tested positive for the virus.
Dokpesi and the affected family members were immediately moved by the NCDC, to the isolation centre at the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital Gwagwalada where his son is already receiving treatment on Friday.
For the Dokpesi family, it was a hard hit from coronavirus.
But the good news is that the patriarch of the family is on high spirit even as he was being taken away to the isolation centre. “I am of quite okay, I feel very well,” Dokpesi senior was quoted as saying Friday after an ambulance from the NDDC arrived to take the family to the isolation centre.
AIT also reports that FCT Health Authorities had also carried out an immediate fumigation of the entire DAAR Headquarters building sitting aloft the Kpaduma hills in Asokoro District Of Abuja.