COVID-19: Kwara case tally second highest in N’Central
…as Gov AbdulRazaq ramps up efforts to curtail spread
Following Kwara recording 10 new COVID-19 cases on Wenesday, the state is now the second with most coronavirus cases in the North Central zone.
The state with 44 cases – and 15th in the country – also surpasses Osun state with a total of 39 cases.
THE INFORMANT247 reports that Kwara recorded its highest daily infection from the coronavirus on Tuesday with newly-recorded 10 cases.
The state, in North Central, is only behind the Federal Capital Territory with 360 cases and third highest in the country.
Kwara is followed by Nasarawa with 25 cases, Pleateu with 19 cases, Niger and Benue with 9 and 4 cases respectively.
Kogi is the only North Central state with no official case of the infection – and one of the two states in the country.
Meanwhile, to curtail the virus spread — caused majorly by travellers’ illegal entrance into the state — governor AbdulRazaq has suggested the setting up of a volunteer team drawn from labour unions and the civil society to complement the efforts of the security agencies in stopping the influx of people into the state.
AbdulRazaq made the suggestion during a virtual meeting with leaders of the CSOs on Monday.
He said, “It has been established that some people sneak into the state between 10PM and 5AM. This poses a grave danger to us when you consider the fact that virtually all our COVID-19 cases were imported. We will like to have volunteers from the organised labour and the civil society, who, working with the security agencies, will man our borders between those hours.”
AbdulRazaq assured that the government would offer incentives and security cover to the volunteers, who would form a border surveillance team manning the various entry posts into the state, especially Eiyenkorin, Oko Olowo and Jebba, where influx of people had been reported in the past few days.
In the mean time, the state government have been commended for putting several mechanisms in place to prevent the curb of the virus.
The state, in addition to shutting down it boundaries and placing bann on inter-LG travels, renovated two isolation centres to standard and provided ambulances specifically meant to cater for the virus cases.
The state government likewise refurbished the long abandoned state-owned oxygen plant and purchased ventilators, PPE for use at the isolation centres and hospitals.
Banning of social and religious gatherings and imposing 8AM to 6PM curfew, the state additionally produced hand sanitizer in large quantity and distributed palliatives to cushion the effect of the virus lockdown.
Recently, the governor directed the daily payment of N25,000 to doctors – and vary amounts to health workers – at the frontline of the coronavirus fight in the state.
Though, experts have condemned the continuous fumigation exercise of the government due to environmental hazards, aggressive sensitization of citizens on personal hygiene, among others, is encouraged.
