Benue State government said it is devising means to ensure that the dreaded coronavirus does not spread to the state through the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps located across the state.
The Commissioner for Health and Human Services, Dr Sunday Ongbabo who gave an update on the activities of the state government to prevent the spread of the disease into the state said that as at the moment, the state was yet to have a record of the coronavirus.
Dr Ongbabo said that the state is restricting the influx of people into the nine designated IDPs camps in the state to prevent the spread of the dreaded coronavirus in the state.
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The Commissioner revealed that the state government is worried about the plight of Internally Displaced Persons(IDPs), who he said were located in nine various camps across the state.
According to him, the government had already identified nine IDPs camps in the state and currently working hard to limit the influx of people from coming into the camps especially those located around Nigeria and Cameroon borders.
“We are using a multi-sectoral approach and we have a high concentration of people at IDPs camps who are vulnerable. We are taking care of them in collaboration with NEMA. We have structured every plan and preparation to ensure that the IDPs are not left out.
He said that the state was planning that the nine IDPs camps across the state have the necessary kits including hands sanitizer, initial basic screening and other basic things.
While acknowledging that the coronavirus is posing a serious challenge called on everyone to join hands with government at all levels to ensure that the disease does not spread.
He emphasised the personal measures like personal hygiene and limiting of travels to the parts of the countries that are pandemic, saying that moving around spreads the virus.
” It is man to man spread now, so people can limit a person to person contact.
” As of today, there is no record of any coronavirus in the state yet. Despite that there is no case, we have a designated centre for quick response at the Benue State University Teaching Hospital, Makurdi. We went to identify the centre immediately we got information that coronavirus had entered Nigeria”, Ongbabo said.
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