Akwa Ibom State Governor, Udom Emmanuel, has extended the lockdown in the state by three days.
Secretary to the State Government, Emmanuel Ekuwem, told journalists on Thursday that the three-day extension was to enable the government review the status of the spread of coronavirus in the state.
The government had last Thursday declared a one-week extension of the lockdown.
Ekuwem, however, said that further updates on the lockdown would be given on Monday.
“In view of the critical situation we are in as a nation and state, although it could have been desirable to call off the lockdown at this juncture but given that we must continue to ensure continuous safety of our citizens, the most ideal thing to do now is to continue with the lockdown until Monday, April 27, 2020 where we will provide an update on the lockdown in a press briefing,” he said.
“To this end, everyone is advised to cooperate with the government and the security agencies in the bid to curb community spreading of the disease.
“So far, only nine cases have been confirmed in our state. Thankfully, we have had three reversed to negative and have been discharged. Although we still have five active cases and one dead, the sincerity of our government in the fight against the pandemic as not gone on noticed by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control.
“In a recent publication by the national body, our contact-tracing scored 99 per cent. Within a short period of time, the state government has a fully kitted emergency operation centre, which comprises call centre, situation room and isolation centre at the Ibom Specialty Hospital,” he said.
The SSG implored health workers to protect and avail themselves of the facilities provided by the government to handle the COVID-19 pandemic and other medical challenges.
