Begins testing of workers for COVID-19
Ekiti State Government has imposed 8p.m. to 6a.m. curfew and banned all gatherings of more than 20 people in the state until further notice. These restrictions take effect from today.
The Commissioner for Information and Values Orientation, Akinbowale Omole, announced the new guidelines in Ado-Ekiti yesterday, citing the alarming rate at which the second wave of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is spreading in the country.
According to him, there is need for the government to be proactive and to take decisive steps to secure the citizens from the second wave of the pandemic that claimed thousands of lives recently.
He urged the people to continue to observe the safety protocols strictly. Omole added that the curfew would be strictly enforced, except for those on essential services.
To allow for religious worship, the government ordered two services for large congregations, which should not go beyond 2p.m.
He added that the State COVID-19 Response Committee and other relevant enforcement agencies would be going round to ensure compliance with these directives, and any person or group of persons caught violating the guidelines would be sanctioned accordingly.
THE government, in partnership with Life Bank, will begin to test health workers and senior civil servants that are considered frontline officers for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
This is due to the increasing number of health workers infected by the virus. According to the government, the focus on health workers and senior civil servants is because they always come face-to-face with COVID-19 patients and therefore face higher risk of contracting the virus.
Speaking to newsmen at the weekend in Ado Ekiti after commissioning the testing kits provided by Life Bank, the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Oyebanji Filani, said the partnership was a unique experience in public-private partnership (PPP).
“We are partnering with Life Bank to rapidly wrap up our testing. It is a further demonstration of the government’s commitment to health workers and public servants who are the ones being targeted under this partnership.
“This testing is free. The 1,500 tests have been dedicated to health workers who are in the frontline addressing COVID-19 issues or coming face-to-face with COVID-19 patients and therefore at a higher risk. We are also targeting senior civil servants who report to work daily despite the restriction placed by government,” he said.
The Commissioner urged the target to take advantage of the unique opportunity and get tested to know their status.
He, however, noted that government’s general testing had not stopped.
In her remarks, the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Life Bank, Mrs. Temie Giwa-Tunbosun, said that the testing was not limited to Ekiti, but for some other states as well.
“We are providing testing for 1,500 people for the first phase of the project. We are targeting 1,500 frontline health workers to ensure that they are safe themselves. We have provided 1,500 test kits, including collection and molecular test. We provided things that will make even those who are collecting the samples safe.
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