We are ready for any future epidemic — Oyo govt

THE Oyo State government said its response to the COVID-19 pandemic has helped the state to overhaul its emergency response system and ensure it has in place permanent structures to tackle any epidemic in the future.

Governor Seyi Makinde spoke at the commissioning of the state’s upgraded Emergency Operation Centre. It was supported by Jhpiego, an international, non-profit health organisation and an affiliate of the John Hopkins University.

The governor, while speaking through the State Commissioner for Health, Dr Basir Bello, said creating permanent structures like the isolation and treatment centres had ensured an improved healthcare system and supported a continuous response by the state and its partners to flatten the COVID-19 pandemic curve.

While assuring of good containment of the COVID-19 spread in the state, Governor Makinde said, “We are creating permanent structures; so we had to convert some major hospitals under construction immediately into isolation and treatment centres and a lot of money was pumped into it.”

Incident Manager, EOC, Oyo State taskforce for COVID-19, Dr Taiwo Ladipo, stated that COVID-19 has been successfully curtailed in the state in partnership with many bodies, including the NCDC.

Dr Ladipo urged de-emphasising the fear of the infection while also advising individuals to take responsibility for their actions in protecting themselves. He stated that the support will go a long way in improving the overall COVID-19 response of the state.

US ambassador to Nigeria, Mary Beth Leonard who stoke through a Google platform reiterated the commitment of the American government to providing technical and infrastructural support to Nigeria’s government on the control of the pandemic in burdened states, including Oyo.

She, however, urged the state’s EOC to make the best use of the infrastructural upgrade to improve the monitoring and control of virus and other emerging public health diseases in the state.

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