The wife of the Benue State governor, Mrs Eunice Ortom whose result showed a Covid-19 positive status yesterday is delivering a sobering message to the state to the effect that Covid-19 is real.
Mrs Ortom said in a text message that she received the result from the tests earlier carried out on her by NCDC personnel on routine screening at Government House, Makurdi and that the result indicated that she and her son as well as some staff are Covid-19 positive.
“We have from this moment, gone into total isolation as required by the protocol and would immediately begin the management treatment as advised by medical experts”, said the First Lady who added soberly, “while I have taken the responsibility to personally call everyone I can recall to have had recent contact with to go for testing, I advice everyone who has had close contact with me in the last 2 weeks and the public to go for screening and testing”.
Reiterating how Covid-19 positive status is not a death sentence as evident by the many recoveries recorded so far, Mrs Ortom said there is no need to panic. Rather, “we should continue to be responsible in our actions so as to keep others safe”, she said.
The Benue State First Lady listed preventive measures she encourages people to take so as to be protected and be safe. Her list of the primary protocols to be observed include * Wearing of face masks; *Constant washing of hands with soap and running water; *Use of hand sanitizers; *Maintaining Social Distance and *Stay indoors (except it is necessary to go out).
Meanwhile, credible information reaching Intervention indicates that there is still no let in the rising number of high profile personalities testing positive in the past few days in Benue State.
Prof Achinge, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration) of the Benue State University had to be rushed to the Jos University Teaching Hospital yesterday. His condition is understood to be critical, requiring ventilator urgently. Already, the Vice-Chancellor of the state owned university as well as nine top academics has confirmed their Covid-19 positive status, followed by the closure of the university.
Other management staff are reported to be in stable condition although they are yet to be discharged. Management staff here refers to the nine or so professors who have been infected from the university, stretching down to the VC’s Confidential Secretary and his wife but not their children.
The fear is what happens if this were to be the reality in the communities deep in the rural areas. Is there a fallback plan in managing such anywhere in Nigeria, not to talk of an agrarian state such as Benue State.
