Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, has directed a random sampling test of students and teachers for COVID-19 to assess their risk level ahead of resumption of schools.
The governor expressed optimism that COVID-19 protocols would be strictly adhered to as SS3 class preparing for West African Examinations Council (WAEC) resume on August 10, while resumption date for JSS 3 students and primary 6 pupils would be announced later.
Fayemi, in a state-wide broadcast yesterday, disclosed that parents of the resuming students are to provide their wards with at least two face masks each as a prerequisite for admittance into their school premises.
The governor who expressed concern over an increase in the rate of infection in the last one month in the state with 109 fresh cases, advised the people of the state to learn from his COVID-19 infection and accept the reality of the pandemic.
The governor recalled that Ekiti State had 43 positive cases with 28 treated and discharged while only 13 were active cases at the beginning of July but the state now has a total number of 152 cases at last count, an increase of 109 cases in one month.
Fayemi attributed increase in cases to the random community testing exercise, which was made possible with facilities at the state-owned laboratory and the proximity to states with high incidences of confirmed infections; noting that lessons have been learnt from his experience with his own infection and isolation for ten days.
He said: “The fact that I could contract the virus in spite of the conscious effort to protect myself and people around me underscores my consistent warnings that we should never take things for granted. It also proves that indeed the virus is real and here, and that it is a respecter of no persons.
“That is why I have always maintained that we cannot be vigilant enough until we have collectively come to the end of this pandemic. I therefore implore you, dear compatriots, to take extra measures to ensure that you keep yourself safe.
“The second lesson to learn from my experience is that the virus is not a death sentence. The key weapons is early detection (through testing), isolation and treatment. From our experience, we have successfully treated and discharged 67 cases in Ekiti today while we still have about 83 active cases.”
