Covid-19: Weekend Lockdown Continues, Ogun Insists

Kayode Fasua in Abeokuta

The Ogun State Government has said that its two-day lockdown covering Saturday and Sunday continues, regretting that the prevalence of the Covid-19 pandemic in the state is yet to abate.

It said that the move would not in any way jeopardise the federal government’s last week lift of ban on inter-state travels, as its decision was taken to protect residents.

A statement issued Friday evening by the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Dapo Abiodun, Mr. Kunle Somorin, noted that “available data and opinions of experts continue to indicate that the fight against the virus is far from being won”.

“To date, a total number of 4,072 people have been tested out of which 898 tested positive.

“Among the positive cases, 609 have been successfully treated and discharged. Sadly, there have been a total of 19 deaths with 270 active cases.

“One of our border local governments is one of the local governments with the highest number of cases in the country, because of the level of testing,” the governor’s spokesman said.

He added that this emphasised the need for residents to exercise high level of restraint, as the state could neither afford more fatalities nor allow the rate of sickness to outnumber the capacity to manage the sick.

“Consequently, we are extending our current phase of eased restrictions for another two weeks. As usual, we will continuously review and modify the guidelines in response to data from the field and expert opinions,” Somorin said.

He stressed that the Ogun government would continue to monitor the situation to determine its impact on the Covid-19 situation and would not hesitate to make appropriate adjustment, in consultation with the federal government.

He also reiterated government’s stance that schools, worship centres and other social centres remain shut.

“A committee has been set up to engage all stakeholders — public and private school owners — and develop guidelines for a safe reopening of our schools, especially to allow certificate classes to resume and write their examinations,” the statement affirmed.