Barely a day after the UNTH Covid-19 virus Testing Centre opened in Enugu, the State has confirmed an unprecedented 68 new cases of the contagion, according to a release last night, 22 June 2020, by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).
A troubled State Health Commissioner, Dr. Ikechukwu Obi, confirmed the unhappy story this morning and further disclosed that 49 of the cases recorded so far in Enugu are health workers managing those attacked by the Coronavirus in the State.
In a statement released this morning, the State Government again warned Enugu citizens and residents to be alert and responsible because “Covid-19 is real!”
“No individual category has been spared by the pandemic,” said Dr. Obi, who signed the statement in his capacity as head of the State’s Covid-19 Task Force.
“Consequently, men, women, children, old and young, people of every profession and socio-economic class have been affected,” he lamented.
Among the VIPs struck down by the virus is a State lawmaker, Mr. Chijioke Ugwueze (PDP, Isiuzo), whose death last week led to abrupt shutdown of the State House of Assembly on Saturday 20 June.
Speaker Edward Ubosi who ordered the shutdown “as a precautionary measure” invited health authorities to immediately decontaminate the Assembly Complex as he also suspended activities in the Complex “until further notice.”
The State Health Commissioner has however assured that brave health workers of the State will continue to “do their best in the prevailing circumstances … to deliver on their mandates, despite the huge risks faced by all.”
He asked citizens to reciprocate the efforts or health workers by seeking help when needed and by obeying simple protocols hitherto established by health authorities and disease experts.
Those who show signs of the ailment are to seek help quickly and not “suffer in silence” as delay could be dangerous, Obi said.
He also restated the protocol for citizens each of who must individually do everything possible to avoid contracting the deadly virus, including:
- staying home when it is not absolutely necessary to go out
- wearing a face-mask or covering whenever there is a need to go out
- keeping a safe distance from other people at all times and avoiding crowded places
- practicing good respiratory hygiene – when coughing or sneezing
- cleaning surfaces with a 1 in 6 concentration of bleach and water
- washing hands with soap for 20 seconds under running water and as often as possible, and
- sanitizing hands when facilities for handwashing are not available
“When you do these, you protect me and when I do these, I protect you,” he said to explain the motive behind these protocols.
“If despite your your efforts… you develop symptoms or know anyone who developed symptoms, please call … and someone will speak with you and get the details.
“This is not the time to avoid visits to hospitals when medical attention is needed,” the health commissioner pleaded with citizens of Enugu State.
To Contact the Enugu Covid-19 Task Force
Enugu Task Force: 0818 255-5558 and 0902 233-3833
NDDC: 0809 700-0010
- #TakeResponsbibility
- #Covid19IsReal
- #EnuguMetroCares
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