Plateau Records First Covid-19 Death

Plateau Records First Covid-19 Death
By Seriki Adinoyi
Plateau State has recorded its first death resulting from the coronavirus pandemic.
Governor Simon Lalong, who is the chairman of the state Covid 19 Taskforce, confirmed this in Jos at a press conference.
He said that 33 cases have so far been recorded in the state; 10 have been treated and discharged, one death recorded, and 22 are receiving treatment and stable.
He added that the dead patient’s sample was taken for a test, but he died before the arrival of the result.
Lalong said: “We shall continue to restrict inter-local government movements to further curtail the spread of the disease.
“The major challenge the state has continued to face is the breaches at the state boundaries where people continue to violate the closure order through compromise or resort to illegal routes.
“This has exposed the state to more dangers of Covid-19, as virtually all the cases we have recorded originated from other states and were imported by people who defied our directives and entered the state at all costs. This is indeed sad.”
The governor said as a government that is people driven and desirous of carrying everyone along, it has noted the concerns raised in respect of the need to have more room for people to secure services such as banking which were limited because of the existing lockdown schedule.
“With effect from 17th May 2020, the total lockdown will resume from midnight of every Sunday and be relaxed on Wednesdays 12 midnight.
“This will henceforth be the pattern until further review. In other words, the total lockdown is relaxed on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays; while Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays remain totally locked down,” Lalong said.
He added that the use of masks in public places remains compulsory, and anyone found not using one outside his home would be arrested and charged to the mobile court.
“To ensure better enforcement and compliance, government will henceforth enroll some of its civil servants for the exercise. Accordingly, the Head of Service has been directed to immediately deploy civil servants from grade levels 10-14 to various points across the state.
“Local government chairmen are to also replicate same in their domains to ensure effective coverage of the entire state,” he said.

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