Ondo State Governor, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, has condemned the massive influx of Almajiris into southwest states from the northern part of the country.
The Governor said their influx into other states, particularly in the southwest, coinciding with the spread of COVID-19 constitutes a great threat in many respects and calls for concern.
Governor Akeredolu, who said government has set up an effective and already running system of containment to return the ALMAJIRIs to their states of origin, also called on the people of the state to report cases of such importation of Almajiris to appropriate authorities to help curtail community transmission of COVID-19 in the state.
The Governor spoke at the Government House Ground, Alagbaka, Akure, during his weekly media briefing on the latest development of covid-19 in the state.
He lamented that what the state is dealing with is more of imported cases of the deadly virus than community transmission, noting that illegal entering into the state through the borders and entry points are the biggest threat the state is facing.
“If those manning our borders and residents along the borders had resisted the illegal entry of the individuals into the state, we probably would be having no new cases to report today.
“The case from Lagos, the woman from Abuja and the case from Ile Oluji would have been prevented if the individuals had obeyed the simple restriction order and if the borders were tight and impenetrable.” the Governor said.
Speaking on the speculated approval for the resumption of school dates, Governor Akeredolu said Government has not approved any date for resumption of academic activities in schools.
He said the spread of the pandemic is the biggest concern of Government and the protection of the pupils and students are topmost on his priority list.
While assuring that his administration will do everything possible to protect and promote the citizen in all ways and always, Governor Akeredolu said the capability of the health facilities in the state has been expanded to respond to emergencies and unforeseen eventualities of Covid–19 in the state.
“To achieve this, we have expanded the capacity of our Infectious Diseases Hospital (IDH) to 210 beds, a tenfold increase in capacity. We have directly provided 80 standard beds, 10 ICU beds, 100 Infrared thermometers, 3 ventilators two of which are ICU ventilators.
“The 80 beds will be used to equip our newly renovated isolation Centre in Ikare. We have also received 100 beds through the Coalition against COVID (CACOVID), which will allow for the expansion of our Centre in Akure and the equipping of the new Centre in Ondo town.”
Packaged by Mayowa Owogbade
