COVID-19: Oyo residents worry Gov Makinde not doing enough to stop virus spread

0
20

Residents of Oyo State are worried about the level of preparedness of the state government to combat the ravaging Coronavirus.

And with neighbouring Lagos and Ogun states seemingly on top of the situation, the sloppy preparation by Governor Seyi Makinde and his team is giving residents cause for concern.

With no functional test/isolation/treatment centre of note owned by the state save the federal facility at the University College Hospital (UCH), the fear is being expressed among the populace that there could be hundreds of infected people out there roaming the streets undetected, and infecting others.

A concerned resident of Ibadan, the state capital lamented the situation saying: “That preparedness is lacking in Oyo State or it seems not to be obvious. For examples we haven’t heard anything about the contacts of Mr Governor, CMD, Provost and his Deputy. They spoke of only one isolation center in Jericho, Ibadan which its readiness is unknown.

“Those people coming from Ivory Coast who tested positive in Osun were easily identified due to lock down in Ogun and Osun. In Saki, Oyo State people are just coming in from Republic of Benin without being tested. The state testing center is still awaiting certification by NCDC.

“With the Governor in isolation, the Deputy hasn’t been called upon to take over just like what we saw in Bauchi due to reasons best known to them but at the detriment of public health.

“The former CMD who was nominated to take over the incident committee hasn’t been seen or heard.”

Their worries are shared by many others who complain that the state government has been playing lip service to the fight against COVID-19.

“Personally I want a total lockdown in Oyo State. I have not been going to my shop but the stay at home order is definitely not working in Oyo State. Social distancing? I don’t even think people know what that is” Mrs Onadeko, a resident of the city, laments.

Some recalled that the first index case identified in the state at Oluyole Local Government was left unattended to by the state government five days after her status was confirmed, in spite of a public statement by Governor Makinde that his administration was on top of her case.

The fear about the spread of the disease became heightened when Makinde himself contracted the disease even when he had not traveled out of the country in a long while.

He’s widely believed to have contracted the virus at a South West political rally of the People’s Democratic Party he held in Ibadan even when it was public knowledge that Coronavirus was in town and large gatherings should be avoided.

The Governor even boasted at the rally that there is no Coronavirus in PDP but in “their party,” in apparent reference to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

Shortly after this, he tested positive to the virus, a development one of his aides blamed on the contact the Governor had with the COVID-19 team at UCH.

Surprisingly, the Chief Medical Director (CMD) of the teaching hospital has tested negative after his initial positive test dive days earlier, while Makinde is still in self isolation after his positive test, presumably undergoing treatment.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here