Clement Adeyi, Osogbo
The Government of Osun State on Thursday allayed fears on 49 Osun indigenes who returned from the Ivory Coast to the state on Wednesday, insisting that they had all tested negative for the coronavirus pandemic and do not pose danger to the public.
The Commissioner for Information and Civic Orientation, Funke Egbemode, who stated this in Osogbo, the state capital, stressed that on arrival in the country, the returnees were received by the Lagos State Government at the Nigeria-Benin border and quarantined for 14-days in a Lagos State’s facility in Badagry where they were tested for COVID-19 infection during the period.
Egbemode also clarified that those that tested positive for the disease were moved into isolation wards in Lagos, while those who tested negative for the infection were cleared and those from Osun were allowed to return to their destinations in Osun.
“This is to officially allay the fears and panic in the public, following insinuations that the State Government of Osun allowed a new batch of Ivory Coast returnees into the state, after the first experience which led to a surge of confirmed cases of the COVID-19 disease in the state,” she said.
“The state government wishes to set the record straight, thus: 49 indigenes of Osun yesterday returned to the state. Forty-one are from Ejigbo and eight from Iwo. We have an official report showing that they all have tested negative for COVID-19,” she added.
“The State Government of Osun assures its citizens that there is no cause for alarm or reason to panic. The returnees who were accepted into the state have been certified to join the society by the appropriate agencies of the government. Hence, they pose no risk or threat to the people of Osun.”
The commissioner called on the residents to continue to maintain confidence in the administration’s commitment to protecting them with everything within its powers during the period of the coronavirus crisis.