AS a way of ameliorating the plight of the vulnerable group in the society following the outbreak of the dreaded coronavirus, Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki assured that the state government is working out stimulus pack for the state to cushion the effect of the pandemic just as he advised people to stay at home based on the order of the government.
The deputy governor, Comrade Philip Shaibu who disclosed this on Friday in Benin at a press briefing on the latest update on the Covid-19 response taskforce activities in the state said that Governor Obaseki has also directed that the state should work out a stimulus package for the vulnerable people in the society that would be affected by the disease and the stay-at-home order.
As a way of checking the spread of the disease, Shaibu said that the governor has also directed that the personnel at the Stella Obasanjo Hospital, Benin should be immediately evacuated to Edo Specialist Hospital, also in the Edo State capital for possible expansion of isolation center for Coronavirus patients.
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He, however, frowned at the partial compliance of the lockdown by the people of the state, noting that shops and markets are still opened selling other items than food items.
He also called on the residents and citizens of the state to obey the stay-at-home order so as to protect themselves for the virus, urging security agents to fully enforce the directive.
The Commissioner for Health, Dr. Patrick Okundia said the state government has put machinery in motion to evacuate patients at the Stella Obasanjo Hospital to prepare for large numbers of the Coronavirus cases should the need arises.
According to him, the hospital’s isolation center was originally 12-bed fully prepared with personnel trained, adding that the government has decided to expand the isolation centre with another 28-bed.
Okundia added: “We have to evacuate patients from the 156-bed hospital to be ready for holding center.”
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