following the discovery of a new case of COVID-19 in Ekiti state Governor Kayode Fayemi has declared that there may be another extension of the current lockdown
Fayemi, at a media briefing in Ado Ekiti, confirmed the new case earlier announced by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).
The governor said the new case was a 29-year old pregnant woman from Lagos.
He expressed displeasure over alleged compromise of security agents at the state’s borders, saying this explained how the pregnant woman entered the state during the lockdown.
The governor ordered that security be further tightened at all entry points into the state to prevent further influx.
” Due to this new case, government may have to consider further extension of the lockdown at least until all possible direct and indirect contacts of this woman have been traced and placed in self-isolation as minimum period of incubation is 14 days for every new infection,” Fayemi said.
He further identified the new case as a female community health worker in Lagos State who entered Ekiti in spite of the lockdown.
” She presented herself at a State Comprehensive Primary Healthcare facility in active labour on Monday, April 13, 2020.
” After a prolonged labour with fatal distress, she was referred to a teaching hospital but decided to go to a private hospital instead.
” A Caesarean Section was performed on the patient and the baby was delivered safely.
” However, she suffered a cardiac arrest and was referred to the Federal Teaching Hospital, Ido Ekiti, where she is currently unconscious.
” The suspicion of COVID-19 infection and subsequent testing was at the federal tertiary institution
” The Ekiti State COVID-19 Taskforce has already commenced contact tracing of the new case and as at this morning, we have over 30 primary contacts on our list already.
” The baby is alive and under surveillance while the private clinic has been sealed off and medical personnel who interacted with this case during her obstetrics and gynaecology emergency have been contacted and put in self isolation.
” By the time we include secondary and tertiary contacts, this one case may have put hundreds of unsuspecting people at risk of COVID-19 infection in Ekiti State, ” Fayemi said.
The governor explained that the incident underscored the reasoning behind the state’s concentration on enforcing total lockdown of the state.
He warned security agents manning the state’s boundaries against further compromise.
“The infidelity of our people and the security personnel enabled this patient to gain access to our state even during a boundary shut down, therefore, putting the lives of so many people at risk and putting Ekiti State under the dreaded possibility of community infection, ” he said.
