From Joseph Amedu, Lokoja
As the controversy continue between the Kogi State Government and the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC) over reported two index cases of COVID-19 in the state thickens, Governor Yahaya Bello has ordered for absolute lockdown of Kabba/Bunu Council Area where the incident happened for two weeks to verify the authenticity of the purported claim.
The Governor who gave the directive on Monday while briefing journalists at the Government House, Lokoja, over the development, said the lockdown will commence as from 12mid night tomorrow.
Bello further said that “Government has decided to be proactive over the verification as the family members of the acclaimed victim who is the Chief Imam of Kabba, Sheikh Ejibunu along with 13 other persons in Kabba/Bunu Local Government have already been tested of the COVID-19 and their results returned negative
” We shall not relent in verifying the genuinety of the NCDC claim and remain resolute in pursuing the matter to a logical conclusion. Government has already put necessary machineries in place to contain the spread of the novel Coronavirus pandemic as prevention they say is better than cure” Bello assured.
The Governor also directed the Incident Management Team of COVID-19 in the state, headed by the commissioner of Health, Dr Saka Audu to immediately embark on door to door visitation of residents of Kabba/Bunu local government area for collation of samples for tests.
Bello equally ordered for isolation of medical personnel and other persons at the Federal Medical Center, Lokoja who accompanied the accident victims to Abuja for two weeks.
The Governor condemned in its entirety the failure of the NCDC to involve Kogi state government in the process of its investigation before allocating two index cases of COVID-19 to the state describing the action as unhealthy and unprofessional.
According to the Governor “However, we still maintain that Kogi remains COVID-19 free at the moment, urging citizens of the state to c
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ontinue to observe all the NCDC protocols in curtailing the spread of the dreaded disease.
