By PAMELA EBOH, Awka

Anambra State Governor, Chief Willie Obiano, has announced the record of 12 deaths in the state as a result of COVID-19 pandemic.

The governor made the declaration during a special COVID-19 broadcast on Monday evening. He said that out of a total of 618 samples collected, 590 tests were conducted, while 101 were confirmed positive carriers, even as result for 26 other samples are being awaited.

Obiano enjoined Anambra people not to panic when there is a sudden surge in the number of cases in the state saying that it is a major part of the fight back against the pandemic.

He said: So far, we have recorded 12 deaths. But happily, we have a total of 77 people who have successfully recovered from COVID-19 through a careful management by our special COVID-19 medical team.

“They have all been discharged. Ndi Anambra, the experience we have gained from managing the pandemic shows that early case detection and management play a major role in patients’ survival of COVID-19.

“Available data shows that all the patients who submitted to our call for early testing and treatment by our team survived the pandemic.

“The patients who have died so far were people who wasted a long time and reported their cases when the virus had made serious progress on their health.”

While emphasising the need for people to subject themselves to early testing which will lead to early detection and management, Obiano stressed that Testing Teams have been stationed in all the 21 local government areas to ensure the immediate collection of samples for testing.

He maintained that COVID-19 is not a death sentence noting that with early detection and careful management by the medical team, most people shall beat the pandemic.

“Some of us have lost close relatives and friends to complications arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“A good many people have been infected with the virus nationwide and our dear state is not insulated from this deadly virus. However, our best chances of surviving this global threat remain a strict compliance to the COVID-19 protocol, he said.

“On the new testing facility, our new testing facility at the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University Teaching Hospital (COOUTH) has run a total of 208 COVID-19 tests within its short period of operation,” Obiano said.

According to him, each of the centre’s five machines has an installed capacity to run 470 tests in 24 hours. He explained that when fully optimised, the molecular laboratory can run a total of 2,350 COVID-19 tests in 24 hours.

“So, in the coming weeks, our COVID-19 figures will experience a sharp rise as we ramp up more tests in our new molecular laboratory,” Obiano stated.

The governor warned criminals parading in fake COVID-19 Task Force uniforms, arresting and extorting huge sums of money from people under the guise of working for the state government to desist from such act or be ready to face the law. He insisted that agencies authorized to enforce the Anambra State Covid-19 Law are the members of OCHA Brigade and ATMA.

He said: “These tricksters are reported to be very active in places like Onitsha, Nkpor and Obosi. I wish to make it categorically clear that the only agencies authorised to enforce the Anambra State Covid-19 Law are the members of OCHA Brigade and ATMA.

“Any other agency or group of people masquerading as Covid-19 Task Force on the streets of Anambra State is fake. And I want to quickly warn these fake operators that the Anambra State Police Command has been directed to search for, arrest and prosecute anybody masquerading as a COVID-19 Task Force operator in our dear state. To be forewarned is to be forearmed

The governor regretted that the level of alertness on COVID-19 has started dropping, saying that most people no longer observe the basic COVID-19 protocol such as regular washing of hands, regular wearing of face masks, frequent use of hand sanitizers and strict adherence to social distancing.

He stressed that the best response strategy against COVID-19 is prevention.

“The imperatives of adjusting to the lifestyle change imposed on us by COVID-19 cannot be over emphasised. Umu nnem, we must either adjust our lifestyle and adhere to the COVID-19 protocol or face the dire consequences of reckless living.

“In fact, I have been informed that some people even hold lavish parties and other ceremonies with large attendance in total disregard to the safety principles of COVID-19. Ndi Anambra, we must not willfully invite trouble to ourselves,” Obiano said.

He commended the efforts of healthcare workers in the state who are the frontline of defence structure against deadly virus.

Update news