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The Ogun State Government says the compulsory wearing of face masks in public will commence in the State on Friday, 1st May, warning that violators will spend 14 days in any of the State’s Isolation Centres and made to perform community service.
The State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun who stated this during a press briefing held at his Iperu home, said that about two million face masks would be made available and given to those on essential services and people who could not afford it.
The Governor, while giving an update on the COVID-19 situation in he State, said the State currently has 29 confirmed cases out of which 6 have been discharged, adding that the rise in number was due to the increase in the State’s testing capacity.
“We are working against the spread of this COVID-19. As from May 1, it will be compulsory for everybody in the State to wear face masks. We deliberately delayed enforcing it so that our people can have enough time to get their own. After May 1, anyone who fails to wear a face mask will be viewed as deliberately planning to infect others and will be arrested and put in our isolation centres”.
“Some of our confirmed cases are immigrants coming to our State through the land borders. The peculiarity of Ogun State put us at a vulnerable position. That means that just as we have advantages, we also have some disadvantages.”
He said the State has made testing booths available in border towns and highly populated areas for people, saying that the Intensive Care Unit, ICU at the 250-bed hospital at Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, was ready for use, while the Molecular Laboratory for testing COVID-19 patients has been inspected by officials of the NIgeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC and the World Health Organisation, WHO.
Prince Abiodun appreciated the frontline medical personnel for a job well done, saying that Government would review their allowances and other working conditions to make them more effective.
While warning that Government would not hesitate in prosecuting purveyors of fake news, for causing anxiety in the society, the Governor allayed the fears of the people, saying adequate measures have been put in place to secure their lives and property.
He informed that the second phase of food distribution to the poor, vulnerable and elderly, would commence soon, as lessons learnt in the first phase would come in handy.
Governor Abiodun called on Muslims to use to Ramadan period to pray for solutions to the pandemic, saying that it was the responsibility of all to work against community spread of the disease.
