Ighomuaye Lucky, Benin

Edo State government has announced the discharge of the seventh coronavirus  patient, who tested negative twice for the virus and was cleared, from one of the state’s isolation centres.

Governor Godwin Obaseki, who disclosed this in a statement, said the patient was the index case in the state.

“Good people of Edo, another COVID-19 patient, who is the index case in Edo State, has tested negative for the second time consecutively. He has now been discharged to reunite with his family. This brings to seven the number of patients successfully managed and discharged from our isolation facilities. We have now recorded 50 per cent recovery rate for patients being managed in our facilities,” Obaseki said.

Commissioner for Health, Dr. Patrick Okundia, charged residents to support the government’s efforts at containing the virus by making themselves available for screening, noting that prompt detection was important in the fight against the spread of the disease.

“Screening facilities (questionnaire-based) have been set up in six primary health care centres and four private health facilities in Oredo Local Government Area, scale up across the 18 LGAs of Edo State is being worked out. The government encourages everyone with symptoms of the disease to come out for screening, testing and treatment, as early detection complements efforts at containing the virus and increases the chances of survival,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Oba of Benin, Ewuare II, has called on Governor Obaseki to effect a total lockdown of the state to curtail the spread of coronavirus.

In a letter to the governor, dated April 16, 2020, the monarch said  the state government should direct that there should be no movement into and out of the state.

He also called for strict enforcement of the stay-at-home order, observance of social distancing and other health and safety protocols advice given by health experts.

“Your Excellency, we respectfully wish to invite your attention to the incident of COVID-19 pandemic and the attendant risk of its continued spread among the people of Edo State. You may wish to recall the stakeholders’ meeting convened by Your Excellency with traditional rulers at the outset of the outbreak of the virus, where I advised that the Edo State Government should take the issue of containment seriously, to mitigate its spread among citizens and residents of the state. However, we have observed with serious concern the rising number of confirmed cases of the COVID-19 in the state, which as at the date of this letter has reached 15 persons, with one death recorded,’’ the Benin monarch said.

The Oba advised that, as efforts to manage confirmed cases were ongoing, adequate measures should also be taken to design and implement effective contact tracing strategies.

He stressed that this was necessary to forestall an imminent second wave of infections, due to the possibility of community transmission of the virus.

He expressed confidence that the approaches, though difficult, were necessary to stop the spread of the virus, for the safety and wellbeing of the people of Edo State.

Ewuare II said the state government could mitigate the health and economic impacts of such steps by making available face masks and hand sanitisers to residents as preventive and precautionary measures.

He also called for the provision of necessary support in the form of palliatives for the people, especially the poor and vulnerable.

The Oba said this would cushion the effects of the socio-economic disruptions occasioned by the lockdown.