Tony Osauzo, Benin

‎Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki has extended the dusk-to dawn curfew imposed on the state on April 19 from 8 pm to 6 am for the next 14 days in a bid to further check the spread of COVID-19 in the state.

He explained that since his last public update about 10 days ago, the state had made made tremendous progress in the area of screening, testing and improved awareness of the people of the state about the virus.

The governor stated that the state was working closely with public and private hospitals, had screened about 20,000 people and tested 297 citizens, adding that ‎the increased screening and testing was the reason for the increased number of cases in the state.

“We are aggressively pushing to screen our minimum target of about 500,000 people and test about one percent of them which is about 5,000 in the next few weeks.

“As we increase testing, we are likely to see an astronomical rise in the number of cases in the state.

“Of 20,000 people we have screened and the 297 sample taken, we have recorded 37 confirmed cases as of today, discharged eight and lost three people”, Obaseki said.

Noting that late testing was a strong factor leading to fatality, the governor advised the people of the state to go out for screening at the numerous screening centres in the state which he said offer free medical services, free face mask and free multivitamins .

“Am confident that we can beat this virus if we follow the measures put in place strictly.

“I want to appreciate the good people of the state for their cooperation and compliance with the curfew which l imposed 10 day ago.

“I know that the curfew have created inconvenience and loss of income to many families, however, this is the sacrifice we have to pay to protect the citizens and their families.

“We have decided to commence another round of palliative distribution to the vulnerable groups in our communities.

“With the lessons we have learnt in the past, we have put measures in place to make sure that only the targeted people receives these items” Obaseki added.

Meanwhile‎, the governor has declared one Mrs. Amaka Okoro, who tested positive for COVIDー19, wanted for treatment.

According to him, she is a nursing mother, who has a baby that is already coughing.

“She lives at 2 Atoe Idubor Str, off 2nd Ugbor, Benin City. She has been unreachable since her results returned positive”, Obaseki said.

‎He appreciated health workers in the state and disclosed that government haf approved the payment of hazard allowances ranging from N90,000 to N300,000 for them, depending on their cadre.

According to the governor, only the health workers who are participating in the fight against COVID-19 would benefit from the hazard allowance.

He thanked the chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the state for volunteering to serve in the state COVID-19 response committee, even as he called on politicians to suspend politics and focus on how to contain the spread of the disease in the state.