The Lagos State Government, as part of efforts to curb the spread of the coronavirus, on Sunday directed civil servants from grade level one to 12 to work from home starting from today (Monday).
The state Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, at a press conference, said the stay-at-home order would last for an initial period of 14 days.
He commended Lagosians, who abided by the state government’s directive that banned a gathering of over 50 people, but warned those who flouted the order.
He stated, “In addition to this directive, I am now also directing all public officers in the entire unified public service from grade level 1 to 12, which constitute about 70 per cent of our workforce, to stay at home from Monday, March 23 for 14 days at the first instance.”
Sanwo-Olu said the directive did not affect medical personnel, members of the Lagos State Emergency Management Authority, the Lagos State Waste Management Authority and other essential services.
Warning residents against violating directive on mass gatherings, the governor said, “If it is a facility – be it an event centre, be it a cinema, a restaurant, a club house or a religious gathering – that does not obverse it, the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency has the power to shut down such a facility.”
The governor also said other health facilities would be upgraded to support the Infectious Disease Hospital, Yaba. “We have evacuated other patients out of that hospital (Lagos Mainland Hospital, Yaba) and so the hospital will be locked down only for the COVID-19 cases alone,” he stated.
He also indicated that the state would recall retired medical workers to strengthen the number of personnel needed for the treatment of COVID-19 patients.
The governor stated, “As part of our strategies to strengthen our efforts, more health workers are also being trained and we have put some of our retired nurses and doctors on notice. They will come to support health personnel who are working tirelessly at this time.”
While confirming the new cases recorded in Lagos on Sunday, the Lagos State Ministry of Health on its Twitter handle @LSMOH, tweeted that, “One of the three new patients is a 51-year-old Briton, who arrived Nigeria March 8 via BA75 flight, while the second is a Nigerian on connecting flight KL0582 London Amsterdam/KL0587 Amsterdam — Lagos March 14. The third is a 65-year-old citizen of the United States of America who arrived in Lagos about six weeks ago.”
The state Director-General, Office of Education Quality Assurance, Mrs Abiola Seriki-Ayeni, urged public and private schools in the state to adhere strictly to the directives of the state government on the closure of schools.
Seriki-Ayeni, in a statement on Sunday, said evaluators have been strictly mandated to monitor compliance to the directives of the state government to stop the spread of the COVID-19.
The Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has confirmed the first case of COVID-19 in the state. He said the patient, who was in isolation, was confirmed positive when his test result was released.
Makinde also stated, “A follow-up on the Ekiti COVID-19 case revealed that the deceased was picked up directly from Lagos Airport to a private apartment in Ona Ara Local Government Area.
“The health authorities have contacted the family concerned and the community has been alerted for intensified contact tracing and self-isolation of identified close contacts.”
Last week, a driver, who conveyed an American and his Nigerian companion, from Murtala Mohammed Airport, was diagnosed with the disease in Ekiti State.
The American died in Ekiti State, while his companion tested negative. The three of them were said to have stayed in Ibadan for 10 days.
Makinde on Sunday said a returnee from Texas, USA, had been identified at Oluyole Local Government Area of the state. “She has been kept in self-isolation with close monitoring by the state epidemiological team,” he said.
The Ekiti State Commissioner for Health, Dr Mojisola Yaya-Kolade, said on Sunday that the person who tested positive to coronavirus in the state was in a stable condition.
Yaya-Kolade said the patient’s condition “is very stable, temperature normal and all vital signs okay.
The commissioner said the contacts with the American, who had been isolated, were in stable condition.
The Ogun State Government on Sunday appreciated a young female doctor, Dr Karen Allison, who suspected COVID-19 in the index case.
The state government, in a statement by the Ogun State Commissioner for Health, Dr Tomi Coker, said, “A heightened index of suspicion, amongst frontline health workers such as Dr. Amarachukwu Allison who suspected COVID-19 in the Italian; private health care providers are of keen note in this because they were the first port of contact for sixty per cent of the populace.”
The Kwara State Governor, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, in a statement on Sunday, directed civil servants in the state to work from their homes.
The governor said, “Aside from Ministry of health and essential workers, all civil servants are to work from home until further notice.
He said “all gatherings of more than 25 people should be discouraged until further notice.”
