Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa
Number of positive cases in Bayelsa has spread to three more local government areas in the state.
Presently, Bayelsa has 147 active cases spread across six local government areas out of the eight lcouncils.
Yenagoa Local Government Area remains the epicentre with 97 percent of the cases while Ogia and Southern Ijaw councils also had positive cases.
Latest reports indicated that the infection has spread to Nembe, Kolokuma/Opokuma and Ekeremor local government areas.
According to investigations, COVID-19 task force team is working to set up a molecular laboratory at the Bayelsa Medical University (BMU) to ensure more residents are tested.
BMU has already being designated as the community support centre and the decision to set up the molecular laboratory there would boost government efforts to curtail the spread of the infection.
Meanwhile, Governor Douye Diri has urged the Nigerian Police and other security operatives not to harass and extort money from the public under the guise of enforcing the order on compulsory use of face mask.
Diri represented by his deputy, Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, stated this while donating tens of thousands of face masks to representatives of bankers, markets, road transport workers, maritime, and tricycle owners unions in Government House, Yenagoa.
According to him, the state government has neither given any task force nor the police the mandate to place a sanction of fine on anybody found without a face mask.
While stressing the need for due process in the enforcement of laws to avoid trampling on the fundamental human rights of the citizens, he said the state government has always shown leniency and empathy in executing the COVID-19 protocols and orders with a view to mitigating its attendant harsh consequences on the people.