The Ekiti State government has identified the fourth case of coronavirus in the state as a medical doctor.

The government said on Tuesday that the medical doctor was working with a private clinic before contracting the virus while treating the third index case, a 29-year old pregnant woman.

The Commissioner for Health, Dr Mojisola Yaya-Kolade, who made these known to newsmen in Ado Ekiti, said only one doctor tested positive, with 15 others  turning out negative among the samples taken to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control.

“We have one doctor who tested positive and he is being treated at the isolation centre, but others were negative,” he said.

Reacting to the development, the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) in the state expressed shock, calling for adequate protection for medical workers in the state through provision of life insurance and other measures.

The association, however, expressed happiness over the news that 15 other doctors working with the Federal Teaching Hospital, Ido Ekiti, tested negative, describing this as a cheering news.

The NMA State Chairman, Dr Tunji Omotayo, also said there was need for government to boost the welfare of  health workers working on the frontline in fighting the coronavirus. (NAN)