Edo Government says it has cleared and discharged 3,769suspected coronavirus (COVID-19), cases across the 18 Local Government Areas (LGAs), who have completed the compulsory 14-day follow up and tested negative.
The Commissioner for Health, Dr Patrick Okundia, told newsmen in Benin on Saturday, that the government had also embarked on contact-tracing of 4,327 persons.
Okundia said the cleared cases comprised of 347 Persons of Interests (POI) and 3,422 others that had various degrees of contacts with confirmed cases.
He said the state had so far recorded 1593 confirmed cases, 7187 suspected cases, 57 deaths and 929 discharged persons, adding that the government had also taken serious steps to contain the pandemic across all communities to protect the people.
He expressed disappointment over provision of wrong information, such as names, addresses and phone numbers by by residents in the ongoing massive testing for the virus in the state, saying the action was hampering government’s efforts at containing the pandemic.
The commissioner identified early testing as essential in curbing spread of the disease.
He said: “The Edo State Government encourages all residents with symptoms of the disease to come out for testing and treatment as early detection is key to containing the virus. When detected early, a patient’s chance for survival increases.
“We urge you to comply with all government directives, aimed at ensuring the health and safety of all Edo people.
“While the government ramps up efforts to win the war against this common enemy of mankind, it is imperative that residents stay at home and observe social distancing guidelines and other precautionary measures against spread of the disease.
“And these must include regular hand washing with soap under running water and the use of alcohol-based hand sanitisers. Cover your mouth and nose properly when sneezing and/or coughing.”
“Two toll-free lines for COVID-19 response have been introduced by Edo State Government to strengthen the initial lines from the State Ministry of Health and the World Health Organisation (WHO), distributed at the outset of the outbreak.
“If you have any COVID 19 symptoms, please call 08001235111 or 08002200110 for assistance.” (NAN)
