Kwara confirms three new COVID-19 cases, orders production of thousands of masks

At least three new cases of OCVID-19 have been recorded in Kwara, the state government reveals on Friday.

As a result of the new cases, the total number of infections in the state has risen to 14, according to the state deputy governor and chairman of the state technical committee on COVID-19, Mr. Kayode Alabi.

He made the announcement while addressing journalists in Ilorin on Friday.

As the state prepares for the relaxation of lockdown to curb the effects of the deadly virus from Ma 4th, the state government has ordered the production of about 500,000 face masks.

"We want to make it abundantly clear that we are caught between two extremes as we are definitely not out of the wood. We are caught on the one hand by the need to protect people’s lives in compliance with our oath of office and on the other by the need not to totally cripple the economy.

"We are not out of the wood. Just today, Kwara has recorded three more new cases of COVID-19. That takes us to 14 confirmed cases in Kwara. Of these, 12 are active as we had earlier discharged two. All our cases are stable and in the best spirits.

"We want to emphasise that one of the three new cases was imported while the remaining two are contacts of our earlier cases. Aggressive contact tracing has since begun. This incident of another imported case explains why we are now deploying military personnel to man our borders while police and other security agencies maintain their hold internally.

"In preparation for the gradual easing of lockdown, the government had earlier directed the production of 500,000 face masks which have started coming in bits. At the moment, we have commenced mass distribution of over 40,000 face masks and sanitisers to markets, bus parks and transporters, hospitals, and elsewhere.

"We will continue to distribute as we receive more masks in the next few days or weeks. We call on private individuals and corporate organisations to also produce masks."

Tribune Online