Gov. Willie Obiano of Anambra has announce the total lockdown of the state following confirmation of a COVID-19 case in the state.
The COVID-19 case in the state was announced by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) on Friday night.
While announcing the lockdown during a state broadcast, Obiano expressed regret that in spite of the proactive measures put in place to by the state government to prevent the outbreak of the disease in the state, an index case was established by the NCDC on April 10.
He stated that the lockdown would commence on April 11 and urged Anambra residents not to panic as the situation was under control since Coronavirus did not meet the state unprepared.
He said: “I regret to announce that in spite of our proactive measures to insulate our dear state from this pandemic, we recorded the first case of Coronavirus in the state yesterday (Friday).
“The index case came in from Lagos and has been placed in one of our Protective Care Centers, we have commenced aggressive contact tracing to ensure that everyone he came in contact with is brought into the net for a professional handling that will save lives.
“I urge you not to panic over this, it did not take us by surprise, we are adequately prepared to handle the situation.
“We have trained enough manpower on how to handle Covid-19 cases and our Protective Care Centers are among the best in the country at the moment; on the strength of this, I urge you to stand strong in prayer and faith.”
The governor stressed the total lockdown is an additional measure to ensure that the outbreak did not escalate as all former guidelines on social gathering and hygiene remained in force.
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“The restriction on movement is hereby extended by two weeks, this time, we are placing a comprehensive lockdown on Anambra State.
“We shall not tolerate any movement across the state by individuals and groups. Only people on essential services are permitted to move around in the delivery of those services to the people.
“Residents of the state are advised to stay indoors to avoid getting contaminated by this virus, security agencies will enforce the restriction on movement this time and they have my authorisation to make arrests where necessary.
“All boundaries with neighbouring states remain closed, there will be no vehicular or human traffic across all the boundaries of Anambra, only vehicles delivering essential services are permitted after a comprehensive check and authorisation.
“Frequent washing of hands with soap for at least 20 seconds under running water as well as the regular use of hand sanitizers are strongly recommended. In fact, everyone is expected to carry a hand sanitizer with him or her at any given time.
“Everyone is expected to stay indoors with their families and loved ones, however, anyone who wishes to step outdoors for any reason at all must wear a face mask.
“Anyone who violates this directive stands a chance of arrest and prosecution.
“Handshaking, hugging and all other forms of physical contact are strongly discouraged, we are also advised to minimise contact with door handles and hand rails and commonly used surfaces in different locations.
“A distance of 6 feet must be maintained during interaction with people. Everyone is advised to keep a reasonable social distance when holding a conversation with someone else,” Gov Obiano said.
