To prevent the spread of Coronavirus in Kwara, the state government has ordered civil servants to work from home and all gatherings of more than 25 people be discouraged until further notice.
A statement released on Sunday by the state governor, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq on Covid-19 reads: “The welfare, security and well-being of all Kwarans are of utmost importance to our administration and, as such, we have embarked on a robust healthcare transformation agenda to give every Kwaran access to better quality and affordable healthcare”.
He noted that currently, we have no confirmed case of COVID-19 in Kwara State, he had approved funding for the construction of an isolation centre at the onset of our administration.
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Nigeria rose to 30 on Sunday.
The governor said that Kwara was following the lead of the federal government by mobilising all resources available to to prevent the spread of coronavirus the state.
“Even so, basic preventive measures by individuals and communities remain the most powerful tool to prevent the spread of COVID-19. As individuals, we are all responsible for the general well-being of fellow Kwarans and should work together to prevent the spread of COVID-19 by: washing our hands frequently with soap and water for at least 20 seconds as much as possible daily; avoiding touching our eyes, mouths, and noses; covering our mouths and noses with our bent elbow or tissue when we cough or sneeze; staying more than 1 meter (3 feet) away from a person who is sick and coughing, and wearing a mask if you are ill (especially if coughing) or looking after someone who is ill and coughing; abstaining from handshaking until the threat of this COVID-19 is zero; and avoiding crowded area and minimising any gathering to a maximum of 25.”
“As a community, we must do everything possible to prevent any transmission of COVID-19 by embracing the concept of social distancing and self-isolation,” he added.
He explained that these measures were to prevent anyone that may be infected with COVID-19 from spreading the disease to others. He warned that an exponential spread of COVID-19 in our community might be catastrophic because we could have thousands of our citizens sick at the same time.
He listed the measures taken by government as follows: closure of all public and private nurseries, primary, secondary and state-owned tertiary institutions.
In addition, he said that apart from Ministry of health and essential workers, all civil servants are to work from home; and all gatherings of more than 25 people are hereby discouraged until further notice.
“We are determined to continue to make the necessary investments in healthcare to safeguard the lives of our people. A 20-bed high-quality isolation centre has been completed and equipped at Sobi Specialist Hospital and plans are underway to build additional and well-equipped 12-bed intensive care unit at the General Hospital, Ilorin,” he explained.
The state has also set up “COVID-19 Technical Committee” comprising healthcare professionals and officials whose primary responsibility is to assist the administration in combating COVID-19 in Kwara State. This committee is headed by the Deputy Governor, he said.
In addition to the above measures, including the emergency telephone lines already given by the Ministry of Health, he said the citizens would be receiving regular briefings and bulletins from the government on the development.
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