Priscilla Ofunre, Ado-Ekiti
The Ekiti State Government has promised to prosecute a Coronavirus patient who brought the disease from Katsina State despite the lockdown order and prohibition of interstate movements in the state.
In a bid to prevent importation of COVID-19 to Ekiti State, the state government had also quarantined seven men who forcefully entered the state from Kano and three other females who came from Oyo State.
The woman, who came from Katsina to visit her husband, a military man working, in Ekiti State, was discovered to have contracted COVID-19 after her husband alerted the task force when she started manifesting symptoms.
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Commissioner for Health in the state, Dr. Mojisola Yaya-Kolade, who spoke in Ado-Ekiti , on Wednesday, said the woman had committed an offence which, she said, flagrantly violated the law of the state.
“Though, It was the husband who alerted us, but it was an offence against the state and the Ministry of Justice will take appropriate actions against her at the right time”, she said.
The commissioner added that the woman’s husband, who was her only main contact in the state, has been quarantined for 14 days in line with the World Health Organisation’s guidelines.
“Let me also tell the public that all the patients in the isolation centre are stable and responding to treatment.
“And those who are persistently positive to testing are still being kept . With the level we have gone, we have nothing to worry about.
“The only fear we have is the fact that the curfew has been relaxed and people are not observing social distancing . People are still coming into the state through the borders via forceful and illegal means.”
Yaya-Kolade said Governor Kayode Fayemi was liaising with the Federal Government for the building of a COVID-19 laboratory in the state
Also speaking, Senior Special Assistant to the governor on Public Health, Dr. Jimlas Ogunsakin, revealed that seven people, who returned to the state from Kano State, and three other females, who forcefully entered Ekiti had been quaratined to contain the spread of the deadly scourge.
Ogunsakin’s words, “We got several tip offs from people and we acted on them. The Kano returnees came to Adeparusi estate in Adebayo and some came to Atinkankan are.
“We got the information from the public and we got them arrested and they were quarantined immediately”.
On the wellbeing of the patients at the isolation centre, Ogunsakin said: “Water facilities and others are freely provided . Before we started using the place, it was renovated optimally .
“We give food three times daily to all the patients despite that the protocols didn’t entail that”.
Also, Commissioner for Information in the sate, Aare Muyiwa Olumilua, said the state government has constituted an Environmental Task Force, to monitor compliance with protocols at market places, religious centres , banks and by okada riders.
Olumilua said starting from Friday, the security agencies have been given the matching orders to arrest those not using the face masks, saying such people would be prosecuted.
