By CHARLES IWUOHA

Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State, on Wednesday, addressed residents of the state on confirmed positive cases of Coronavirus Disease, disclosing that all the 11 cases are people who entered the state illegally despite the Presidential order on restriction of inter-state movement and the state government’s closure of all boundaries and inter-state transportation.

Gov. Ugwuanyi further disclosed that the 11th confirmed positive case, announced by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) on May 12, 2020, was a 40-year old male who had been in Kano since April 2020 and came back to Enugu on May 4, 2020.

The governor declared that “it has become imperative that we all take responsibility to protect our dear state from the illegal influx of people into the state,” and therefore asked all those charged with the responsibility of protecting all land boundaries in the state “to put more efforts to ensure that our boundaries are properly secured to curb this unfortunate importation of the COVID-19 into the state.”

Gov. Ugwuanyi urged the people of the state to continue to abide by the protocol of the NCDC, including the mandatory use of face-masks, covering in public, maintaining social/physical distancing and high level of personal and respiratory hygiene.

He reassured the people that his administration will continue to do all within its powers to effectively contain the spread of the pandemic in the state.

The governor recalled that “on March 28, 2020, Enugu State had its index positive case, a couple from Isi-Uzo Local Government Area who then just returned from the United Kingdom and Dubai. Both have been successfully treated and discharged.”

Continuing, he said: “One month after the index positive case was confirmed, on April 28, 2020, Enugu State had its 3rd confirmed positive case, a female indigene of Bauchi State with a history of travel to Bauchi and Plateau states.

“On May 01, 2020, Enugu State had its 4th confirmed positive case, a female indigene of Umuchigbo in Enugu East Local Government Area who together with her nine-year old daughter returned to Enugu from Lagos State where they reside after falling ill.

“On May 02, 2020, Enugu State had its 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th confirmed positive cases, all of whom are close contacts of the 3rd confirmed positive case and who travelled with the 3rdconfirmed positive case to Bauchi and Plateau states.

“On May 06, 2020, Enugu State had its 9th confirmed case. A female nine-year old daughter of the 4th confirmed positive case, who returned to Enugu with her already ill mother.

“On May 07, 2020, Enugu State had its 10th confirmed positive case, a son of the third confirmed positive case who also travelled with the mother to Bauchi and Plateau states.”

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