The Ondo State government has commenced the process of contact tracing following the confirmation of an index case in the state.
Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu disclosed this on Saturday during a state broadcast to brief residents on the latest development in the state.
According to the Governor, the confirmed case which was revealed on Friday, has little or no expansion potential.
Recall that on Friday, the state recorded its first case of coronavirus following the arrival of a military officer into the state from India who went on an official assignment.
Governor Akeredolu, who said he had discussed with the officers’ Brigade Commander, explained that on arrival, the military officer placed himself in self-isolation until he developed symptoms which turned out to be positive after a test was conducted at on him Ede in Osun State.
The Governor said: “When you trace the history of the officer, you will know that it leads us to little or no potential expansion. He came back and put himself in isolation, the Brigade Commander spoke with me and confirmed this to me. All we have to do to prevent the spread of the virus has been done with this man in self-isolation.
“I want to talk to our people and allay their fears, there is no need to panic. This has been contained within a room. Remember I took the lead in subjecting myself to a test because I felt I have been out of the state.”
While rolling out efforts put in place by his administration to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Akeredolu said, “We have strengthened our precautionary measures, we closed our schools and sent our children home, we suspended public gatherings and advised against religious gatherings.
“We have scaled down the activities in our Government House and Secretariat and we have asked the civil servants from level 1 – 12 to stay at home. We have also closed our markets.
“After that, we have now gone ahead to fumigate our markets and motor parks. We have also directed a lockdown of our borders when we found out that several people from neighbouring states were moving in.
“We have also decided to assist our students by having special educational broadcasts. We have also set up special relief distribution and response fund committees.”
Governor Akeredolu noted that the committee on relief distribution will operate, purchase and share foodstuffs through the local government areas.
The Governor noted that the confirmed case was not unexpected, adding that the people must not be too anxious and should continue to practice social distancing and cleanliness by washing their hands with water and soap.
