We are working on palliatives, Makinde tells Oyo people

OYO State Governor, Seyi Makinde, on Saturday, informed residents of the state that his government is already working on palliatives to ease the pressure on them  following the partial shutdown of activities as part of the precautionary measures to curtail the spread of COVID-19.

The governor, however, added that the state would need to work on accurate data and design that would ensure the palliatives get into the hands of those who truly need them.

According to him, it was important that the palliatives to be put in place get to those with genuine need for them and that they are not cornered by middlemen.

A statement signed by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr Taiwo Adisa, indicated that Governor Makinde stated these during a phone-in interview programme on Ibadan-based Fresh 105.9 FM, as well as and a one-hour Tweetchat via his Twitter handle @seyiamakinde, on Saturday.

The statement noted that the government had stepped up enlightenment campaigns on COVID-19, while also enforcing measures on the lockdown of activities in the state.

Governor Makinde maintained that as part of measures to contain the spread of the disease in the state, the state government, in collaboration with the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, has set up a diagnostic centre to handle testing of samples, noting that the state was only awaiting NCDC endorsement.

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He explained that once the centres are certified, it would become easier to test more people.

Governor Makinde added that apart from the preventive measures, the state has set up isolation centres, with four-bed isolation unit in Ogbomoso, 10-bed at Jericho, four-bed at UCH and 100-bed capacity at Olodo, Ibadan, which will be ready on Thursday.

He noted that the ICU beds in the state currently have ventilators.

The governor further noted that the state has Disease Surveillance and Notification Officers in all 33 local government areas and 35 local council development areas and that council caretaker chairpersons were already involved in enlightenment campaigns and implementation of directives, complementing the state-wide campaign and efforts to prevent pandemic in the state.

Governor Makinde, who maintained that the state has ensured that health workers have the required equipment and personal gears, and that wherever it identified gaps, it would immediately plug them, counselled the people of the state to stay safe by following the proper hygienic practices –  washing of hands regularly or using an alcohol-based hand sanitisers and also practising social distancing.

NIGERIAN TRIBUNE