The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, has commended the Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom for his proactive approach in the fight against the spread of COVID-19 in the State.
NCDC said the approach of Ortom and his team had been instrumental to the success so far recorded in the fight against the spread of the virus in the State.
Representative of the agency, Professor Stephen Abba stated this on Wednesday when he presented a report on COVID-19 to Ortom and the State Action Committee at the Benue Peoples House, Makurdi, the State capital.
Abba said the quick response to suspected cases, contact tracking and massive awareness among other measures employed by the Benue State Government, had played a key role in limiting the number to only the index case.
He also made numerous recommendations on ways of sustaining the fight against the pandemic, one of which the Professor said was intensified security at the borders of the State.
Responding, Governor Ortom commended the State Action Committee for a job very well done and announced the approval of additional N50 million to enable the committee do more.
The Governor restated the commitment of his administration to the battle against the virus, urging the people to continue to observe preventive measures against the pandemic.
He described unity, love, peace and sustained prayers as the panacea for overcoming COVID-19 and promised that the report presented by NCDC would be implemented, thanking the organization for its immense support.
On crisis in some communities of the State, Ortom said it was shameful that at a time when the entire world was united to fight a common enemy COVID-19, some persons were busy sponsoring violence in their areas.
He said security operatives had been directed to arrest and prosecute such individuals.
Also speaking, Chairman of the State Action Committee on COVID-19, Engineer Benson Abounu disclosed that they had received three trucks of rice from the Federal Government for distribution across the three Senatorial Zones of the state.
Engineer Abounu, who is the Deputy governor of the State, noted that the committee had also procured a truck load of tomato paste and was producing about 150,000 face masks, among other items for the people.
He said with the transfer of the COVID-19 index case in Benue to Abuja, the state had no fresh case of coronavirus.
The Deputy Governor also hinted that plans had been concluded to convey to their various States, the 40 youths who were suspected to have been trafficked to Benue and kept in one apartment on Adikpo Street in Makurdi.
