The first Covid-19 patient in Osun state has been discharged from the state Isolation Centre.

Governor of Osun state, Adegboyega Oyetola disclosed this while briefing the media on the state’s management of the coronavirus outbreak.

Oyetola said Osun state was sparing no effort in preventing the virus from spiraling out of control since the number of confirmed cases in the state rose to 20.

“As you are all aware, we recorded the first Covid-19 case in Osun on the 25th of March, which was confirmed by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC). The case is a returnee from the United Kingdom (UK), who voluntarily submitted himself for testing and treatment. 

“Sadly, between then and now, the number of Covid-19 cases in Osun has risen to 20. The reason for the increased incidence of cases is known to you and members of the public.

He attributed the sudden rise in the number of Covid-19 cases in the state to returnees from abroad who came home through Nigeria’s land borders to be reunited with their family and friends.

“You will recall that last week, we received about 127 returnees from Ivory Coast, who came into the country through Ogun state border, where they were allowed entry and escorted by security officials from Ogun State to Osun. 

“Upon their arrival in the State, as a proactive measure, we immediately quarantined them at an isolation centre in Ejigbo. We later discovered upon profiling that some of these returnees are indigenes  and residents of other states such as Oyo, Lagos, Ogun, Imo, Edo, Delta and Abia among others. 

“Of the 127 isolated and tested returnees, 17 tested positive for Coronavirus while 110 returned negative. Of the 17, we also have  persons from other states.”

The Governor who described the state’s intervention in the case of the returnees as timely, said the move helped prevent a major contact tracing crisis for the federal government.

“The effect of our intervention convinced us that we took the right decision, because if the returnees had been released into their various states, tracing them and their contacts would have been difficult  and the implications would have been catastrophic for our State, those other states and indeed the entire nation.

“The 109 whose results came back negative have been released to join their families. Among them are: 11 to Oyo State, two are going to Lagos State, One to Ogun State, three each to Edo and Abia states, four to Delta State and one to Imo State while 85 will remain here in Osun.”

Oyetola further noted the need for government to come to the aid of citizens at this time and said Osun Food and Relief Committee would soon begin distribution of relief materials.

“As a way of cushioning the hardships accruing from the inevitable lockdown in the State, which we imposed during the course of the progressive surge in the number of confirmed index cases, we have constituted a 21-man Food and Relief committee, comprising eminent sons and daughters of Osun”, the governor said.

Bukunmi Samuel

Osogbo