COVID-19: Ogun extends lockdown, as schools, religious centres remain closed

By James Ogunnaike – Abeokuta

As Nigeria continues to record a high number of cases of the coronavirus (COVID-19) on daily basis, the Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun on Friday night extended weekend lockdown in the state by another two weeks.

VANGUARD reports that the governor stated this in a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Kunle Somorin, and made available to newsmen in Abeokuta, the state capital.

According to Somorin, available data and opinions of experts continue to indicate that the fight against the virus is far from being won.

The statement read, “Ogun State Government will continue to be deliberate, cautious, focused and balanced in its approach and place highest priority on public safety over and above any other consideration in its efforts to flatten the curve of the dreaded COVID-19 virus in the State”.

“To date, a total number of 4,072 people have been tested out of which 898 tested positive. Amongst the positive cases, 609 have been successfully treated and discharged. Sadly, there have been a total of 19 deaths with 270 active cases”.

“One of our border Local Governments is one of the Local Governments with the highest number of cases in the country because of the level of testing”.

“This high level of prevalence may also be obtainable in other Local Governments as we ramp up testing. All this emphasises the need for us to exercise a high level of restraint as the State can neither afford more fatalities or allow the rate of sickness to outnumber the capacity to manage the sick”.

“Consequently, we are extending our current phase of eased restrictions for another two weeks. As usual, we will continuously review and modify the guidelines in response to data from the field and expert opinions”.

While noting the recent lifting of the ban on interstate travels by the federal government, he added that the state will monitor this development to determine its impact on the COVID-19 situation, stressing that it will not hesitate to make appropriate adjustments, in consultation with the federal government.More in Home

The statement added that schools are to remain shut, stating that a committee has been set up to engage all stakeholders; public and private school owners, and develop guidelines for a safe reopening of our schools, to allow certificate classes to resume and write their examinations