Lokoja
Kogi state Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, on Monday, ordered a 14-day lock down of the affected local government area where two index cases of Coronavirus came from, as reported by the Nigeria Centres for Disease Control (NCDC) recently.
Governor Yahaya Bello who, expressed reservation about the issue of Coronavirus in state, directed the total lock down of the area during press briefing on Monday in Lokoja, said the measure would commence from midnight on Tuesday.
Duaglobalnews gathered that the two index cases are from Kabba/Bunu Local Government Area of the state.
He reiterated that although the state was still “COVID-19 free” and that the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control “dubiously allocated index cases”, there was need to take precautionary measures because of “obvious move to spread the virus” in the state.
According to him, the State’s response team has conducted contact tracing of the family members of the affected persons, adding that 13 people that were tested returned negative.
He noted that the lock down would enable the state government to carry out house-to-house test of all residents and forestall infiltration of the area by “agents of those who are keen on escalating” the disease in the state.
He stated that the state government was making arrangement to provide palliative to the residents of the area during the period, while security agents would be deployed to enforce the lock down.
Bello called on the Federal Medical Centre management to urgently isolate its personnel, including doctors who came into contact with the supposed index cases since they insisted the victims were positive.
Bello said the politicisation of the Kogi issue further reinforced his earlier position and suspicion that economic and political interests were the underlying variables behind the fictitious cases announced daily by the NCDC.
He insisted that the supposed index cases were part of such politics, adding that the manner which the community leader who was “stug by bees” was hurriedly moved to Abuja without the knowledge of the state government was suspicious.
“Equally suspicious was the declaration by the NCDC that the community leader and his son tested positive.
“Even the son who was said to have tested positive is walking around running errands for his father, instead of being in insolation as the NCDC guidelines stipulated,” the governor said.
He urged the people of the state not to panic, assuring them of continued observation of all precautionary measures against the pandermic Coronavirus in the state.
