How Abidjan Returnees Exacerbated The Osun COVID-19 Crisis

The number of coronavirus confirmed cases in Osun State has increased to 14 after 12 persons tested positive in two days.

The 12 confirmed cases are among the 127 people that came to the state from Abidjan, Cote-devoire last Saturday, March 28.

The state’s commissioner for Health, Dr Rafiu Isamotu, told Daily Trust that the tests were done in batches, and out of the first 23 samples ran, three came out positive.

In the second batch, he said 47 were tested and nine of them came out positive.
Isamotu said the samples of the remaining 56 had been taken to testing centre and that the results were being expected.

He said the returnees were not all indigenes of Osun State. Findings by the state government indicated that some of them hail from Oyo, Delta, Edo, Benue and Anambra states, he said.

The returnees were stranded in Ogun when the state government closed its borders.

They were handed over to Osun government after claiming Ejigbo in Osun State as their destination. Osun quarantined them immediately and took their blood samples to lab for the coronavirus test.

The Commissioner for Health said those confirmed positive had been taken to isolation and treatment centre while others were still being quarantined.

The commissioner said the isolation centre was well-equipped and that a new one was under construction. He explained that there was no community spread of coronavirus in Osun and that all the 14 cases were returnees.

The Chief Press Secretary to the Governor Mr Ismail Omipidan said the situation was under control and advised the people not to panic.