Gbenro Adesina
The Acting Chairman of the Oyo State Covid-19 Task Force, Prof Temitope Alonge has revealed that the state government has received about N100million endowment fund from donors to fight the deadly virus in the state.
Alonge, the former Chief Medical Director (CMD) of University College Hospital, (UCH), who made this revelation at a press briefing today also stated that the newly created 100 bed State Infectious Disease Centre, Olodo would be ready for use on Monday,adding, “We have 600 personal protective equipment”.
“We have procured three set of 5KVA inverters. One will power our High Dependency Unit (HDU) and Resuscitation Unit, another one will power the ventilators while the last one will be for the lighting of the entire Centre. This does not preclude the generators and other sources of power installed in the facility. We only need to put in some finishing touches, like Oxygen, running water and Solar panel system. We also have a small mortuary because not everyone will survive but we do not pray for anyone to die. In a setting like this, people are bound to die and we have to provide them with decent storage”.
The Professor of Medicine addressed the press alongside the Commissioner of Finance, Mr Akinola Ojo, Special Adviser (Security) to Governor Seyi Makinde, CP Fatai Owoseni, Director, Planning, Resources and Statistics, Oyo State Ministry of Health, Dr Abass Gbolahan among others.
Pointing out that the state is considering modalities for giving palliatives to the residents, he said that the infectious disease centre in Olodo, which he described as the main anchor of cases of Covid-19 in the state, is set to receive patients.
He noted that the state was more particular about the prevention of the disease and education of the people adding, “Most importantly, the two issues that the task force in Oyo State has been able to achieve is that the functionality of the task force through the EOC is not focusing a hundred per cent on treatment but on actual prevention and education of the people and that is why you have seen us go round the markets, distributed materials to the local government authorities primarily to let the people know that prevention is actually better than cure. And so, if we maintain all the preventive measures that have been put in place and are been hammered upon on a regular basis by the members of the Task Force, I believe we will have less of a burden coming into the treatment centre”.
He continued, “Please as much as possible, maintain physical distance and not social distancing alone. Physical distancing is different from social distancing in the sense that social distancing was brought in as a terminology that was to reduce social interactions in pubs, clubs and areas where people relax; whereas physical distancing is more apt in telling you to maintain a distance between yourself and your neighbour. Ensure you wash your hands regularly and more importantly, please be on the lookout for people that may have symptoms around you. This disease does not respect persons, neither does it respect academia, political positions, cadre and our governor has been magnanimous not only to express his best wishes to everybody in Oyo State, but he is in sound health and sound mind and he is still controlling the affairs of the state”.
Also Mr Owoseni said the state has achieved about 90 per cent of enforcement of the curfew, stressing that the security operatives deployed for the enforcement are mindful of human right and avoiding the abuse.
